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May 21, 2024
 

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Teruhiko Mano
For Teruhiko Mano's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
BUSINESS / Economy / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 1, 2014
Economic figures reveal more than you see
The Cabinet Office's Economic and Social Research Institute on Jan. 17 released the finalized figures on the country's economy's stocks (the net value of accumulated assets at a balance date) and flows (net transactions, including income and expenditure, during an accounting period) that were recorded...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jan 4, 2014
Reform vows, Constitution to dog Abe in 2014
At the beginning of the new year, I would like to review the achievements of the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the challenges it faces in its second year on the economic and political fronts.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 7, 2013
Who is responsible for a corporate scandal?
Recent scandals involving Japanese businesses have included bank loans to the underworld and misrepresentations of restaurant menus at leading hotels, and many of the media reports have focused on how management takes responsibility for the mess. I would like to highlight three points that need to be...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Sep 15, 2013
Japan must avoid using 2020 Olympics as excuse to put off fiscal rehab
The G-20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, ended Sept. 6 with the conclusion that it is premature to declare that the global economic crisis has ended, despite signs of improvement.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Aug 4, 2013
Japan increases TPP possibilities but not its own competitiveness
Japan finally entered the trade talks for hammering out the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement during the 18th round last month in the Malaysian resort of Kota Kinabalu.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 17, 2013
'Abenomics' and the wild pursuit of inflation for inflation's sake
From June 5 to 6, more than five months after launching his Cabinet, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe convened the government's three councils on economic and fiscal policy, industrial competitiveness and science and technology.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 13, 2013
Upper House poll to test public will on economy, TPP and Constitution
The House of Councilors election will be held within three months, and the focus is on whether the split in the Diet — where the two chambers of the legislature are controlled by different camps — will finally be mended.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 25, 2013
'Abenomists' beware: Rising prices just one pitfall of spiraling yen
The Bank of Japan on Wednesday installed a new governor and two deputy governors who — in line with the wishes of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — are advocates of ultra-easy monetary policy.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jan 28, 2013
Inflation targeting easy to promote, but difficult to achieve without tools
T he government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Bank of Japan agreed last week to set a 2 percent inflation target to be achieved "as soon as possible." All sorts of issues have been raised, from the dangers of intervening in monetary policy to the waning independence of the central bank, but there...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 17, 2012
Deflation only natural when politicians refuse to fix oversupplied Japan
Needless to say, the biggest challenge for the government to be formed after Sunday's general election is to put the Japanese economy on a growth path.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Nov 5, 2012
Excess supply, not lack of demand, weighing on the global economy
The demand and supply balance is adjusted through price fluctuations under a market economy. However, price changes often go too far, occasionally leading to creation of a bubble boom and its subsequent collapse. When Japan's bubble boom went bust in the early 1990s, Japanese companies were burdened...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Sep 24, 2012
Toll of double tax hikes on the economy will be even worse than in '97
The number of people in Japan aged 65 or older has reached 30.74 million, or 24.1 percent of the population, according to a government estimate released on the Respect for the Aged Day last Monday. The numbers are record highs and warn of snowballing health and welfare costs the country will soon have...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 4, 2012
The risks of democracy: When markets resolve what politics cannot
The European sovereign debt problem that began with Greece has entered a new phase. In addition to the ruling party's defeat in polls Greece held May 6, Nicholas Sarkozy, who helped champion fiscal austerity as the cure for the crisis, was replaced as French president by Francois Hollande, a Socialist...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Apr 16, 2012
Trade deficit a reminder Japan needs to brace for economy's fifth stage
Japan's ¥2.49 trillion trade deficit in 2011 — its first in 31 years — tells you where the economy's development stands in relation to the balance of trade. Let's review how the trade balance has fluctuated in each stage of the nation's postwar development and look at some of the challenges...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Feb 20, 2012
Lost in inflation: the trap of focusing solely on the consumer price index
Japan's wholesale price index has consistently been on the rise since December 2009 due chiefly to rising oil and food prices. But the consumer price index has fallen year on year for three years in a row. One reason behind the decline in the CPI is the rising influx of cheaper, high-quality products...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 19, 2011
Lawmaker attitudes, Tohoku both in dire need of transformation
The extraordinary Diet session closed Dec. 9 after the Upper House endorsed the opposition-submitted censure motion against Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa and consumer affairs chief Kenji Yamaoka. Was anything else accomplished? The legislature passed the third extra budget of the year for disaster...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Oct 24, 2011
Going back to the past won't help Japan Inc. protect supply chain
The joint declaration adopted Oct. 15 by the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers expressed a willingness to take resolute action to deal with the serious downside risks being faced by the global economy. But Japan, beset by the damage caused by the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Aug 8, 2011
Unbeautiful yen's rise will help the economy more than hurt it
The yen continues to appreciate as Japan struggles to get a handle on recovering from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the unresolved crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, and the inability of the administration of Prime Minister Naoto Kan to implement policy actions to deal with the...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 20, 2011
Disaster shines light on wisdom of renting in a debt-laden world
The destruction wrought by the Great East Japan Earthquake has started to appear in statistics in its full force.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Apr 4, 2011
Effects of the Tohoku disaster and options for Japan's response
More than three weeks after Tohoku and the eastern parts of the Kanto region were hit by a massive earthquake that triggered a tsunami and a nuclear power plant crisis — there are few indications of when Japan might get the situation under control.
Rare sequel to 'My Neighbor Totoro' to play at Cannes
A screening of "Mei and the Baby Cat Bus," which is being billed as a "mini-sequel" to the Studio Ghibli classic "My Neighbor Totoro," is set to take place at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday.
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.
Fuchu Prison adapting to foreign prisoners
From the outside, the light-brown complex that is Fuchu Prison in western Tokyo could easily be mistaken for a city hall.
Why half of Japan's cities are at risk of disappearing in 100 years
A couple looks out onto the Fukuoka nightscape. Due to its distance from Tokyo and its close proximity to South Korea and China, professor Tomoya Mori believes that Fukuoka is one of the few metropolitan regions of Japan that will see some form of growth in the decades to come.
Japan concerned over U.S. officials' remarks on atomic bombings
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks to reporters during a news conference in Washington on Thursday.
Fuchu Prison adapting to foreign prisoners
From the outside, the light-brown complex that is Fuchu Prison in western Tokyo could easily be mistaken for a city hall.
The politicians moving Japan forward on climate
While not the most outspoken politician on the issue, digital minister Taro Kono has a track record of being serious in his commitment to addressing the climate crisis.
Seoul's eclectic Art OnO shines light on Japan's artists and galleries
Art OnO, which took place from April 19 to 21 in Seoul, featured a modest number of 36 participating galleries from 15 countries.
Want to be a voice actor? Stay 'true to the character'
SungWon Cho is a veteran with more than 10 years of experience portraying characters in anime, cartoons and video games.
Local theater in Japan is more than a hobby — it’s a community
Japan Times contributor Laura Pollacco (front right) was offered the role of one of her all-time favorite heroines, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet, in the Tokyo International Players’ production of “Pride and Prejudice.”

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.
How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan
By Mai Yoshikawa

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