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July 16, 2024
 

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Noriko Hama
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Oct 1, 2007
Fukuda and the 'Cabinet of the Walking Dead'
Atitle in the Financial Times' Lex Column caught my eye Wednesday. The item, "Japan's Zombies," turned out to be a very readable story about large Japanese electronics companies. But until I got down to actually reading the piece, I was totally convinced it was about Japan's latest Cabinet.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Aug 27, 2007
'Lucky bag' binge turns into Pandora's box
Japanese retailers like to offer "fukubukuro" (lucky bags) to customers as an added attraction. The bags, sold at a fixed price, are filled with an assortment of goods that are supposed to be worth more than what you paid for the bag.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jul 23, 2007
10 years on, currency earthquake is waiting to rattle Asia once more
It is 10 years since the Asian currency crisis. Currency crises are like earthquakes. I hesitate to use this analogy when lives have been lost and people continue to suffer as a result of the quake last week in the Chuetsu area of Niigata Prefecture. Yet the parallel is a valid one.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 25, 2007
Social responsibility: the buzz word nobody gets
Spas are for healing, nursing homes are for caring, language schools are for communicating, amusement parks are for amusing and pensions are for carefree retirement. This is how things ought to be. It is not how things are in modern-day Japan.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 21, 2007
Pondering the futility of the Bank of Japan's inflation comfort zone
Members of the Bank of Japan's Policy Board are said to be at odds about where the rate of inflation ought to be over the medium to longer term.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Apr 16, 2007
Politicians on quest for referendums should be doubted
Proposals establishing the procedure for a referendum on constitutional reform were rushed through parliament last week. While both politics and legal procedures preclude the actual tabling of reform proposals before 2010, the stage is being set with no-holds-barred determination by Prime Minister Shinzo...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 19, 2007
Advice for Japan as it returns to the jungle: Don't feed the animals
The Japanese economy is now a fully signed-up member of the global jungle.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Feb 12, 2007
Mum's the word, Mr. Yanagisawa
Keeping mum has never been a strong point of politicians. Hakuo Yanagisawa, the beleaguered health, labor and welfare minister, seems especially bad at keeping mum on the subject of mums. In his world, mums are machines. Their sole function is to breed.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jan 1, 2007
Dreaming of a Japan of United States
A time to dream impossible dreams. The New Year holiday season is surely such a time. And one such dream might be a Japan of United States.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Nov 27, 2006
The importance of being ambiguous at APEC
APEC stands for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. A strange name. Neither a committee nor a council, not even a commission -- just "cooperation."
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Oct 23, 2006
Room for microcredit in the notorious 'gray zone'?
For sci-fi lovers, the twilight zone is a scary place, the stuff of bad dreams. But for borrowers of consumer loans in Japan, it is the "gray zone" that constitutes the nightmare.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Sep 25, 2006
Many fears, few hopes haunt Japan's transition
"Children should be seen and not heard."
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Aug 7, 2006
From Poland to Japan: a contrasting tale of two central bankers
Two central bankers have been catching intense media attention over the past couple of months. One is Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui. He is in a bit of a dog house for his investments in the now notorious Murakami Fund, as well as for some of the other ways he has been moving his money about.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jul 3, 2006
Inflation, Japanese monetary policy and global imbalances
Here are three questions to ponder over in the summer season: Is inflation back? When will Japanese interest rates start rising? Do global imbalances matter?
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 5, 2006
A sleuth's Marple-lous take on takeover bids
In the novel "A Caribbean Mystery," Miss Marple asks Mr. Rafiel about takeover bids. She sounds like someone who is talking about a word in a foreign language.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 8, 2006
In search of Galbraithian wisdom for Japan's woes
John Kenneth Galbraith died last month. He was arguably one of the most influential economists of our time. One wonders what his comments would have been, had he been asked to say something about the course of the Japanese economy during these past few months.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Apr 17, 2006
'CPE' by stealth: the state of youth jobs in Japan
French students are victorious. They have managed to push the infamous "first-time employment contract" ("contrat premiere embauche") out of the window.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 20, 2006
What the Merchant of Venice might think about BOJ policy
"The quality of mercy is not strained."
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Feb 27, 2006
Of winter sports and economic fortunes: What's the connection?
The Winter Olympics were last held in Japan in 1998. The stage was Nagano, and on that stage, the Japanese athletes performed brilliantly. They won no less than five gold medals, one silver and four bronzes. Many of the winning athletes sported auburn, if not blonde-tinted hair. Some even went for eyebrows...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jan 30, 2006
Alchemist or apprentice: a guide to Livedoor hype
Takafumi Horie, aka Horiemon, is in disgrace. He and other senior executives of Livedoor, the Internet company, have been arrested on suspicion of violating securities laws.
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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