Earlier this year, NHK aired the three-part TV program “Made in Japan,” which dramatized an electronics company’s struggle to survive tough economic times. While fictional, the story detailed the harsh reality Japan Inc. faces from Chinese competition. But was the drama in fact a ...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s popularity continues — the latest Nikkei and TV Tokyo survey shows his approval rating at 66 percent, his Liberal Democratic Party’s victory in the Upper House election seems highly probable, “Abenomics” is still on course, and even medium-term economic growth ...

Since mid-November, the yen has weakened substantially against the dollar, the euro and other currencies. The rapid decline was fueled by aggressive policy announcements by Shinzo Abe, before and after he became the prime minister in December, calling for more fiscal stimulus and for ...

On Sept. 14, the Japanese government presented to the public a new national energy strategy. This long-awaited plan included as its focal point the objective of eliminating nuclear power by the end of the 2030s. Less than a week later, however, Japan’s hopes for ...

On May 5, Japan’s last operating nuclear reactor was shut down, turning it into a nuclear energy-free country. The government is working desperately to restart two reactors in the town of Oi in Fukui Prefecture, but the outcome is difficult to predict. In fact, ...

The University of Tokyo, locally known as Todai, has announced a draft plan to shift the start of its academic year from spring to autumn and called on 11 other major universities to join it. Public discussion of the proposal has been immense since ...

On July 1, 2011, the European Union-South Korea free-trade agreement took effect, promising to significantly facilitate the exchange of goods and services and give both nations a major economic boost. The conclusion of the deal demonstrated the huge European interest in South Korea’s economy ...

Japan launched major yen-selling intervention on Oct. 31 in response to massive speculative yen-buying — the first such action since August. The ever-rising yen is threatening Japan’s export industry and can easily derail the eagerly awaited economic recovery from the March 11 shock. However, ...

The Fukushima power plant crisis has clearly damaged Japan as a country brand. There has been an outpouring of sympathy for the victims and a widespread admiration for Japan’s perseverance, stoicism and orderly response, but the overwhelming perception overseas is negative: disbelief that such ...

Pure chaos is reigning over Japanese energy policy and the future of its nuclear power industry. Just after trade minister Banri Kaieda declared the nation’s nuclear power stations safe to restart late last month, Prime Minister Naoto Kan suddenly ordered that stress tests be ...