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November 23, 2024
 

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Gearoid Reidy
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s decision to step down as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader has thrown the race for his successor into uncertainty.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 15, 2024
Kishida’s resignation opens the door to a chaotic era
With Fumio Kishida's resignation, the LDP faces a crucial election next month with no clear front-runner to become its next leader.
A man makes his way along an earthquake-damaged street in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in January. With last week's tremors in Kyushu and the nature of the Nankai Trough, some experts believe that the omens of a disaster can be seen.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 11, 2024
Japan is living in the shadow of the megaquake
People tend to view the quake threat in the abstract. It’s kind of like thinking about death — I know I’ll die someday, but I hope it won’t be today.
The turmoil affecting global markets came on the heels of Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda’s decision to raise rates, but you can't fault him given the volatile worldwide economic conditions.
COMMENTARY
Aug 6, 2024
Tokyo market rout — oops, the BOJ did it again
Japan’s central bank isn’t responsible for the bloodbath. But it’s reliving a terrible habit of hiking rates at the worst possible time.
A return to the world with interest will almost certainly mean an increase in the bifurcation of Japan's haves and have-nots.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 5, 2024
Is Japan ready for a ‘world with interest?’
Ever since Ueda arrived at the central bank 15 months ago, economists have been debating what the "world with interest” will look like.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda holds a news conference at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday. The bank raised rates to 0.25% in just the second hike since 2007.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 1, 2024
Ueda’s big day was lost in a communication black hole
The BOJ should improve its information release process, including fixing leaks and setting fixed release times, to avoid similar issues in the future.
While Japan’s media may influence global perceptions of robots as friendly and lovable, the near-future robots will likely not match the capabilities or roles depicted in TV show's like "Sunny."
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 25, 2024
Japan isn't the 'robotopia' Apple TV's 'Sunny' portrays
One of the reasons we still see relatively few robots doing the menial jobs is that human labor is cheap.
Paris is preparing to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which start on Friday. These Summer Games will likely be very different from the previous ones, held in Tokyo in 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 22, 2024
In defense of Tokyo 2020, the loneliest Olympics
As Paris gets ready to host the Olympics, a reflection on the previous Games, held in Tokyo three years ago, prompts doubts about predictions of a COVID-induced disaster.
Japan's tradition of offering investors gifts is nice. But with the stock market at record highs, such perks are no longer needed.
COMMENTARY
Jul 18, 2024
It’s time Japan's shareholders buy their own wine
The practice by Japanese companies of giving gifts once served as a good way to encourage trading novices to dabble in the stock market.
Everyone should relax as Japan’s capital, Tokyo, isn’t ripping out thousands of trees to redevelop the famed Jingu Gaien park. Quite the opposite is planned.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 12, 2024
Tokyo's Jingu Gaien is at the center of an urban debate amid a redevelopment rift
Concerns about plans for Tokyo's Jingu Gaien may be exaggerated, as key trees will be preserved and more green space will be created post-development.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington in April. Both leaders face an uphill battle to stay at the helm of their respective parties and countries.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 10, 2024
Japan too is wrestling with a flawed leader
Questions about election prospects plague Biden in the U.S. and Kishida in Japan, with both trying to hang on to their commanding positions despite growing discontent.
Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture. The mayor of Himeji has suggested that foreign tourists pay four times more to enter the castle than the current ¥1,000 entrance fee.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 8, 2024
Japan really should charge tourists four times more
The suggestion by a Kansai mayor that foreign visitors pay more for tourist attractions doesn't go far enough. The government should establish a nationwide policy.
Japan’s redesigned yen banknotes are shown at the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday, the day the new ¥10,000, ¥5,000 and ¥1,000 bills went into circulation. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 3, 2024
The new yen notes have an important story to tell
The inspiring stories of the three trailblazers whose portraits are featured on the new yen banknotes say a lot about the past, present and future of Japan.
American sprinter Noah Lyles poses with a "Yu-Gi-Oh!" card after winning at the U.S. Olympic track-and-field finals on Sunday. The image went viral, once again showing the popularity of Japanese cultural exports like manga.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 28, 2024
Blackstone sees billions in manga. You should too.
Investment firm Blackstone's move to buy manga platform Mecha Comics, betting on the strength of Japan's soft power, looks further ahead than other players have.
Monitors show the rate of the yen against the U.S. dollar at a foreign exchange brokerage in Tokyo on Monday. Traders are falling out of step with the Bank of Japan, expecting hawkish steps that are instead met with a cautious approach.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 24, 2024
Traders are out of step with the BOJ’s Ueda
Time and time again, traders predict that the Bank of Japan will take bold next steps, but these rarely come. That's because Gov. Ueda is, most of all, cautious.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike (left) and Renho, a member of the House of Councilors, both candidates in the gubernatorial election, attend a news conference at the Japan National Press Club in the capital on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 20, 2024
The battle to be Japan’s most powerful woman is on
The race to become governor of Tokyo has officially kicked off, and is set to determine who will control a region that makes up more than 20% of the nation’s economy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the Amur Oblast region of Far East Russia on Sept. 13 .
COMMENTARY
Jun 18, 2024
Worry more about Putin’s visit than Kim’s dung balloons
Russia and North Korea, heavily sanctioned, have much to gain from each other and little to lose, reducing the leverage that the U.S. and its allies have over them.
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett attends the opening ceremony of Tungaloy's new plant in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, in November 2011. Buffett says Tokyo executives are good value for money amid a widening pay gap between local and foreign business leaders.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 14, 2024
The pay gap in Japan’s boardrooms is unacceptable
The job market in Japan is, at all levels, much less liquid and executives are less likely to need incentives to avoid jumping ship to rivals.
The rates of unmarried Japanese have been rising across every age group. More than 90% of women age 30-34 were married in 1980, versus 65% now.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 11, 2024
Tokyo government's 'Tinder' is actually a good idea
The rates of unmarried Japanese have been rising across every age group. More than 90% of women aged 30-34 were married in 1980, versus 65% now.
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda bows at a news conference in Tokyo on Monday, the day the automaker said it had suspended domestic shipments of three car models after falling foul of government certification rules.
COMMENTARY
Jun 6, 2024
Why Toyota's so-called safety scandal is a 'nothingburger'
Unlike the Volkswagen Dieselgate scandal, there have been no recalls, and Japanese vehicles have passed retests without issues.
Line, which has evolved into an all-encompassing app used for messaging, payments, job searches and more, is now at the center of a dispute over its ownership.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 5, 2024
Why Line, a superapp, sparked a diplomatic dispute
Line, which has evolved into an all-encompassing app used for messaging, payments, job searches and more, is now at the center of a dispute over its ownership.
Japan approves ¥21.9 trillion stimulus plan
The policy chiefs of the Democratic Party for the People, Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito — Makoto Hamaguchi (left), Itsunori Onodera (center) and Mitsunari Okamoto — shake hands after reaching an agreement on an economic stimulus package on Wednesday.
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.
Saitama court bans demonstrations over anti-Kurd hate speech
Kurdish people in Japan in 2015. A court injunction has banned acts that defame the Japan Kurdish Cultural Association and are disrespectful, such as putting up banner flags or handing out fliers with hate speech like “Refugees should go back to their home countries.”
China reinstates visa-free travel for Japanese nationals
Beijing Daxing International Airport
U.S. aircraft carrier returns to Japan carrying navy’s ‘most capable fighter’
U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Fred Kacher speaks to reporters shortly after the arrival of aircraft carrier USS George Washington at Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Friday.
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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