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December 22, 2024
 

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Justin Fox
A 2010 study found that U.S. adults averaged 5,117 steps daily and that this was lower than the averages found in similar studies in Switzerland, western Australia and Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2024
America wasn’t made for walking, and it’s killing them
A 2010 study found that U.S. adults averaged 5,117 steps daily and that this was lower than the averages found in similar studies in Switzerland, western Australia and Japan.
Recent research suggests that within developed countries, the old positive relationship between status and fertility is re-emerging.
COMMENTARY
Apr 3, 2024
The wealthy are starting to have more babies than the poor again
After a century during which higher income and status meant fewer children, the current trend is potentially a momentous change.
California’s share of U.S. wine production, around 90% in the 1990s and 2000s, dropped below 80% for the first time on record in 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2024
Who will save the U.S. wine industry? Not California boomers.
California’s share of U.S. wine production, around 90% in the 1990s and 2000s, dropped below 80% for the first time on record in 2022.
A new report by the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility estimates that it could take up to 320 years for Black Americans to catch up to their white counterparts in quality of life.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 8, 2024
Black Americans gain no ground on income and wealth
One study estimates that it could take up to 320 years for Black Americans to catch up to their white counterparts' in quality of life.
A health care worker administers the COVID-19 vaccine to a child in Rio de Janeiro in January 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 30, 2023
How we got COVID’s risk right but the response wrong
It was not the initial consensus on the fatality rate that drove the response but rather the way the risks of COVID-19 were balanced with the costs.
The Black unemployment rate fell to 5% in March, the lowest level ever recorded in the monthly data, but then rose to 6% in June, showing how erratic it can be.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2023
The mysterious fall and rise of Black unemployment
After a roller-coaster move this spring, it’s now essentially back to where it was in February. How much is statistical noise?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 11, 2023
New York’s subways have less crime but more violence
New York City subway pickpocketing is down. Senseless assaults are up. That’s not a great trade.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2023
Flight of affluent taxpayers catches up with New York
The latest personal income tax data from New York shows the state bringing in less revenue than it did before the pandemic, which could hamper its ability to pay its bills.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 1, 2023
China may not need Western technology very much longer
The latest ranking of global spending on research and development has U.S. tech companies on top and Chinese rivals on the rise.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2023
Pandemic murder wave has crested. Here’s the postmortem.
Homicides were down in the U.S. in 2022 and continue to fall in the biggest cities. The cause of the spike during COVID-19 is still being determined.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 29, 2023
Big Tech binged on workers during COVID-19 — now, comes the purge
The spate of Big Tech layoffs is a reaction to a hiring wave during the pandemic that got out of hand. But will it be an overreaction?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 22, 2022
China's economic engine is about to start shrinking
The nation's working-age population could decline by two-thirds or more by the end of the century, according to new U.N. projections.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 1, 2022
How often do we have to get COVID to stop getting COVID?
Natural immunity will be key to downshifting the pandemic to endemic status. That doesn't mean you should go out and try to catch the virus tomorrow.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 13, 2022
'Air worse than Beijing' isn't much of an insult anymore
China's progress in reducing pollution in its capital city justifies a little environmental optimism, if only the world would catch up.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 26, 2022
We’ll all have some immunity to COVID-19 soon
The end of immunological naivete to COVID-19 in the U.S. should change how we think about the disease and what policies we put in place to manage it.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 20, 2021
America’s superstar cities aren’t what they used to be
The 10 biggest U.S. cities, while large and growing, now account for less than 7.9% of the country's population.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 1, 2021
Millennials getting raises have retiring baby boomers to thank
Retiring baby boomers and massive government aid in response to the COVID-19 pandemic may help explain the rising incomes and workers quitting in huge numbers.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 26, 2020
What a 95% effective vaccine could do is pretty exciting
A rough estimate based on the infectiousness of COVID-19 is that about 70% of the population would have to be immune for its spread to slow without any other preventative measures.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 8, 2020
Who’s still working at home? The affluent is who
Many of the U.S. ZIP codes hit hardest by the pandemic's economic fallout are those where affluent stay-at-home workers have stopped spending money on local services.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY
Aug 19, 2020
Coal’s days may be over in the U.S.
Renewables will most likely surpass the fossil fuel in electricity generation this year despite Trump's best efforts.
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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