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November 22, 2024
 

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Noriko Hama
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Feb 2, 2004
The unofficial truth about Japan and its official economic recovery
So it's official. Or so the officials say. The Japanese government's latest monthly report on the state of the economy proudly announces that recovery is now steadily in progress.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 29, 2003
Enough monkey biz for year of the sheep
The new year approaches, and according to the Chinese zodiac sign calendar it will be the year of the monkey. Just what kind of monkey business awaits the animal in its namesake year is anybody's guess. The hunch is there will be no lack of such activity.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 1, 2003
The visionless world of postelection Japan
"Now when you go to look for your left -- when you need them most -- they are nowhere to be found," says Michael Moore in the introduction to the U.K. version of his new book, "Dude, Where's My Country."
BUSINESS
Nov 3, 2003
How money changes hands in deflationary Japan
An old Japanese saying has it that money is a roving commodity. It will forever keep changing hands, so that yesterday's borrowers are today's lenders, and today's impoverished will be tomorrow's affluent.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Oct 6, 2003
Why short-circuit ourselves in a battery-operated world?
We live today in a world of information and communications technology. For all the wonders it can work, it is actually quite fragile, dependent on a whole host of things to ensure it operates smoothly.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Sep 8, 2003
Taking the blue pill in a deflationary world
"Welcome to the real world," says Morpheus, captain of the hovercraft Nebuchadnezzar. That is how the cult-movie serial "Matrix" first ventured out into its progressively surreal world. Fans avidly await the coming of the third and (supposedly) last installment of the saga later this year.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Aug 4, 2003
Seasonal thoughts on Japan's sweltering summer troubles
Summer is as much the silly season in Japan as well as elsewhere. Nothing much moves forward and the papers struggle to find suitable topics to comment on. So do economists. Here are some thoughts for the season.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 30, 2003
Devolution trinity needs more than a moniker to succeed
Fewer subsidies, less transfers, more taxing power. Thus goes Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's "trinity" of local government reforms.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 2, 2003
Consequences of eternal stability may mummify Japan's economy
Stability is a good thing. But you can always have too much of a good thing. Too much stability turns into rigidity. Rigidity begets stagnation. Stagnation leads to decline. Decline leads to death. Such is the dynamics of economic activity.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Apr 28, 2003
Time for Japan to return to reality and give us safer reasons to invest
"Wonderful thing, death. So uncontroversial," said Jim Hacker, the hero of BBC TV's highly successful 1980s political sitcom "Yes Prime Minister."
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 31, 2003
The economics of friendly fire
Friendly fire is a terrible thing to be a casualty of. But such things happen in the battlefield. As has indeed been happening in the Iraqi war zone.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 3, 2003
Unorthodox likely to be deprived of death wish
So now we know. After much speculation, leaking and hearsay, the next governor of the Bank of Japan has been named. Toshihiko Fukui it is, to the surprise and dismay of many it seems, judging by immediate media reactions here and elsewhere.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Feb 3, 2003
Beware of the risks of inflation targeting
America borrows to keep growing. China grows to keep standing still. And Japan stands still to keep from falling apart.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Nov 25, 2002
'Asianization' and 'Wimbledonization' can avert final collapse
An economy is like a balloon. Pump hot air into it and it will soar up into the heavens. If it soars too high for too long, it eventually gets worn or torn, or both, and starts to collapse.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Sep 2, 2002
Japan laying it on thick with ancient corporate shtick
The hammier the act, the better it gets. Nippon Ham, Japan's largest ham and sausage processor, tries to tap the government's post-BSE meat buyback program by pretending it has a lot of unsold domestic beef on hand, which actually turns out to be imported stock.
BUSINESS
Aug 5, 2002
False logic of 'Koizumispeak' hinders economic progress
"A cat has four legs. My dog has four legs. Therefore my dog is a cat." False logic cannot get much better than this. False logic is music to the ear of those who wish to be deceived and honey on the tongues of those who wish to deceive.
BUSINESS
Dec 31, 2001
The euro's tangible new legacy
On New Year's Day, many traditional Japanese performance arts come into their element. Rakugo is a time-honored version of standup comedy. Well, sit-down really, since the kimono-clad performer actually sits on a cushion and uses nothing but a towel and a fan as props -- any kind of prop that may be...
BUSINESS
Oct 1, 2001
Koizumi should follow in Thatcher's footsteps
The infamous terrorist attacks on the United States have done much to alter the global economic landscape. But they have done nothing to change the economic problems Japan needs to tackle.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Tokyo Metro’s overseas efforts begin in earnest with London deal
Tokyo Metro will soon have a role in the running of London's Elizabeth Line, a major train route serving the U.K.’s capital city and environs.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ex-yokozuna Kitanofuji dies at 82
Yokozuna Kitanofuji enters the ring during the May 1970 grand sumo tournament in Tokyo.
Man charged with murder allegedly made victim date other men for money
A car carrying suspect Ryotaro Masuda, who was indicted for allegedly beating his 25-year-old girlfriend to death, leaves the Shibuya Police Station in Tokyo on Thursday.
Shohei Ohtani wins National League MVP award
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Padres during the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last month.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world
mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

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