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April 30, 2024
 

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Teruhiko Mano
For Teruhiko Mano's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Feb 7, 2011
End of 'dam theory' means Japan badly needs paradigm shift
This year's annual "shunto" labor-management wage talks appear to be proceeding on a subdued note. There can be three major reasons why.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Aug 16, 2010
Asian community needs self-sufficiency to become a reality
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum's high-level meeting on growth strategy in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, wrapped up with a chairman's statement on actions to be taken by 2015. That strategy is to be formally adopted at the APEC summit in November, with revisions due by the end of the year.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jul 12, 2010
Where will limits of G20 policy leave debt-strewn Japan?
The G8 and G20 meetings in Toronto, closely watched last month as Europe struggled to halt the chain reaction of doubt set in motion by the Greek debt crisis, exposed their inability to coordinate on quelling financial uncertainty.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 31, 2010
Greece's implications for Japan: the need to clarify the public debt
The storm that is the Greek debt problem continues to rage through the global markets. In an emergency meeting May 2, the finance ministers of the European Union agreed to work with the International Monetary Fund to provide 110 billion euro in loans to Greece over three years. The first batch was provided just a day before a heap of Greek bonds reached maturity on May 19.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Apr 26, 2010
Japanese opt to shun risk as fiscal dangers, global turmoil rise
Share prices are picking up worldwide amid a growing sense that the global economy has finally hit bottom. However, we see no big change in the conservative ways Japanese households are managing their assets, which are mainly savings accounts.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 22, 2010
Climate change battle demands cooperation, not new appliances
The Japanese economy posted growth in the last quarter, but I would like to make a few observations about the components of the growth.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Feb 22, 2010
How many factors are driving euro's descent?
The euro's value is falling conspicuously. Compared with the highs in the last quarter of 2009, Europe's unified currency has dropped from around ¥135 to ¥122, and from about $1.52 to roughly $1.37, losing nearly 10 percent against the yen and the dollar. What is causing its fall and where will it go from here?
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 28, 2009
The Dubai shock: What to learn from our previous bubbles
With one real estate megaproject after another, including an man-made resort island shaped like a coconut tree and the world's tallest skyscraper, Dubai has been aiming to turn the tiny emirate into the financial center of the Middle East.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Nov 23, 2009
Yen's steady drop in foreign reserve status reflects wider worries
Ten years have passed since the euro was launched as a common European currency by 12 members of the European Union based on the Maastricht Treaty of 1992. The euro was initially used only for interbank trading and other electronic transactions, but the debut of euro notes and coins on Jan. 1, 2002, put an end to the national currencies of the participating countries, including the German mark, which rose to prominence after Germany raced with Japan to rebuild from the ashes of World War II.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Oct 19, 2009
Mighty dollar's demise won't be quick despite depreciation woes
The G20 summit in Pittsburg reaffirmed the need for a common set of policies to correct global imbalances, and the G7 finance ministers and central bank chiefs, meeting later on in Istanbul, agreed that wild fluctuations in exchange rates harm global economic and financial stability.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Sep 14, 2009
Increasing prospects for jobless recovery will test DPJ policies
About a year has passed since the subprime-mortgage-loan debacle and the collapse of Lehman Brothers triggered a global financial crisis and worldwide recession. In Japan, some indicators suggest the economy has bottomed out and may be headed toward recovery. However, the employment situation hasn't shown any improvement and is worsening instead.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jul 27, 2009
Dollar beauty may be fading but it still tops currency pageant list
The Group of Eight countries and the outreach participants in the July 8-10 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, discussed promotion of an international currency system that is stable and functions well. But it remains an elusive goal to find concrete ways of reforming the system.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 22, 2009
Stakeholder rethink in order as dust settles from GM's collapse
General Motors Corp., which until several years ago led not only the U.S. economy but the global economy as the world's largest automaker, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 1, concluding a corporate history that spanned more than a century.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 18, 2009
Will second wave of 'price destruction' finally spur change?
A major wave of what could perhaps be called the second round of "price destruction" is accelerating in Japan.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Apr 6, 2009
Demand-supply gap is driving Japan's precipitous slide
The Japanese economy is stuck in a tailspin. With industrial output sinking 10.2 percent in January and 9.4 percent in February, economic activity could drop to half in another six months.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 2, 2009
Zero-rate bonds must be studied but 'invoice system' shows promise
F inance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven top economies wrapped up two days of talks last month with the recognition that the global economy will continue to deteriorate this year, and urged governments to act in concert to stabilize their finance sectors and inject stimulus to boost demand.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jan 26, 2009
Trimming bureaucracy would give Japan years of 'buried treasure'
Every time a new economic indicator is released by the government, it becomes even more evident that this year will be a tough one for the Japanese economy.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 22, 2008
Dollar must be more than convenient to run global economy
The dollar is strengthening against all major currencies except the yen. That the currency of the nation where the subprime crisis originated — and where the Big Three automakers are begging for federal help to survive — should get stronger appears strange.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Nov 24, 2008
G20's shared crisis Obama's first entree?
With the messages of "Change" and "Yes, we can," Democratic Sen. Barack Obama won the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 4. Apparently aided by the financial crisis that unfolded under the Republican administration of George W. Bush, Obama scored a resounding victory that gave him more than double the number of Electoral College votes that went to the Republican candidate John McCain.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Sep 29, 2008
U.S., Japanese crises share factors from Great Depression
The upheaval in the U.S. financial system since Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 two weeks ago has triggered turmoil worldwide.
When will Japan intervene to support the yen?
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki has reiterated the government's readiness to take an appropriate action as the yen continues to slide against the U.S. dollar.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Raising kids in Japan as a single parent? It takes a village.
Making things work as a foreign, single mother in Japan isn't easy, but these tips and tricks can help you through the hardest parts.
Yen rebounds strongly after first slide past ¥160 since 1990
The yen dropped to ¥160.245 per dollar on Monday before heading into the other direction to ¥155.01 amid speculation of an intervention by Japanese currency authorities.
Man, 28, arrested in Okinawa over burned bodies found in Tochigi
Hikaru Sasaki enters the Metropolitan Police Department's Osaki police station in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward on Monday after being arrested on suspicion of disposing of two bodies found in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture, earlier this month.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.

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

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Leading Japan’s sustainability from Tokyo
Leading Japan’s sustainability from Tokyo

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