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November 21, 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.
Ishiba delays meeting with Trump, citing legal restrictions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves upon arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in Callao, Peru, on Friday.
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.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
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.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

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

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