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December 22, 2024
 

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Koichi Hamada
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda attends a commemorative ceremony at the BOJ's headquarters in Tokyo on July 3, the day new yen notes went into circulation.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 11, 2024
Japan needs tighter monetary policy to restore balance
Japan’s economy undoubtedly suffers when the yen is too strong; that is why some advocate for a more expansionary monetary policy.
With the world's democracies and authoritarian regimes watching, the U.S. election on Nov. 5 will have global implications.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2024
The choice confronting American voters
Republicans and Democrats differ significantly on the role of government in society, a divide that the U.S. Supreme Court used to mediate.
Unfortunately, the Bank of Japan kept monetary policy too tight after the 1985 Plaza Accord, leaving Japan mired in deflation and recession for two decades. 
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2024
Does the world need a Plaza Accord 2.0?
Unfortunately, the Bank of Japan kept monetary policy too tight after 1985 Plaza Accord and Japan was mired in deflation and recession for two decades.
Despite Shinzo Abe's numerous achievements as prime minister, including job creation and efforts to promote workforce gender equality, recent controversies surrounding his tenure, including ties to controversial groups and scandals within his political faction, have tarnished his image.
COMMENTARY
May 7, 2024
The economic legacy of Japan's longest-serving prime minister
Under Abenomics and the BOJ's monetary policy, employment rose more than under any other Japanese government in the 21st century.
The yen's exchange rate against the dollar on Wednesday. The yen declined from ¥103 against the dollar in 2020 to as little as ¥151 in late 2023.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 11, 2024
Is a weak yen good for Japan’s economy?
The yen's fast depreciation is boosting overseas investment and sectors like tourism, but could also trigger inflation. In response, the BOJ should raise interest rates.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 12, 2023
Japan’s giant of central banking
Critics of former BOJ Gov. Kuroda complain that he never achieved the 2% inflation target. What they fail to acknowledge is his policies led to a dramatic strengthening of the labor market.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 17, 2023
Should Japan have a nuclear-sharing agreement?
While Japan may be softening to the idea of taking a more active role in its own security, persuading the Japanese to accept the idea of hosting nuclear weapons will not be easy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 8, 2023
Barbarians at democracy’s gates
The conventional wisdom is that the arc of history always bends toward peace, tolerance, justice and democracy. But recent political violence makes it clear there is no room for complacency.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 7, 2022
A man who genuinely cared: Mourning the real Shinzo Abe
Though the slain former Japanese prime minister belonged to the hawkish wing of his party, he was not the unbending nationalist conservative that many foreigners deemed him to be.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 8, 2022
Will Taiwan be the next Ukraine?
It may take a Chinese invasion of Taiwan before the world finds out if the U.S. will defend the island.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 6, 2022
When will this inflation ever end?
To understand the increase in consumer price inflation around the world, one must look not only at supply and demand but also at the wedge that the coronavirus introduced between them.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 16, 2022
The old way is not the best way to make Japan productive again
If Japanese firms opt to resume a traditional work routine — with its long hours, exhausting commutes and minimal vacations — both people and the economy will suffer.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2022
The power and poison of Modern Monetary Theory
The rigid stances of MMT's devotees and detractors have not led to productive discussions over its viability.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 7, 2021
What will Fumio Kishida do?
The questions now are how Kishida will use this impressive election result and what will his leadership mean for Japan?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 4, 2021
The right economic advice for the pandemic recovery
The challenge now is to devise a recovery strategy that recognizes the implications of today's global economic interdependence.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2021
The U.S. and its immigration calculus
Higher levels of immigration may help to explain why U.S. GDP growth often exceeds that of Japan.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2021
Biden’s stimulus trade-offs
While Lawrence Summers may be overstating the inflation threat, a careful review of Joe Biden's stimulus plan along the lines he proposes is probably a good idea.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 28, 2020
Epidemics, economics and externalities
The COVID-19 pandemic and environmental threats will hopefully fuel demands for greater social solidarity.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 2020
A more humane post-pandemic social contract
There's reason to hope that the COVID-19 crisis will catalyze a shift toward more just societies
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 13, 2020
Keeping up with the Fed
Economies like Japan will have little choice but to pursue post-pandemic monetary expansion.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Mother hopes for reunion with daughter ensnared by Tokyo host clubs
The Kabukicho district in Tokyo, where the daughter of a woman in her 60s fell deeply into the host club culture.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.
Curiosity didn’t kill the meme: Why cats still rule Japanese YouTube
A screen shot from YouTube user @lagelda shows the simplicity of going viral in Japan in 2024: A cat dancing to EDM in front of a green screen.

Podcast

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

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
By Alex K.T. Martin

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