Teruhiko Mano - The Japan Times

BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES

Feb 21, 2005

Globalization is a trend fraught with both positives and negatives

It's been a while since the word "globalization" came into widespread use. But its meaning isn't always clear, perhaps because each person uses the term in his own way.

BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES

Dec 27, 2004

Japan should entertain Swiss offer when planning its FTA strategy

With the number of member countries now topping 150, trade negotiations under the World Trade Organization will take more time to conclude. This has triggered a rush by many countries to conclude regional or bilateral trade liberalization agreements.

BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES

Nov 29, 2004

National security may prove weak link in maintaining economic ties

Last week, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Chinese President Hu Jintao met -- for the first time in a year -- on the sidelines of the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Chile. Ever since Tokyo and Beijing restored diplomatic ties in the 1970s, there has been an underlying belief that political and economic relations between Japan and China should be considered separately, because of the different political systems in the two countries.

BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES

Nov 8, 2004

Five economic factors point to future deterioration of dollar

The dollar's exchange rate against the yen, which was fluctuating within the 108-112 yen range until early October, has begun to move downward in recent weeks despite such negative factors as the devastating typhoons and earthquakes that ravaged Japan.

BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES

Sep 27, 2004

Oil-shock veteran Japan strong enough to weather surging prices

Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed at a conference in Vienna on Sept. 15 to increase daily crude oil production by 1 million barrels to 27 million. This is a record that exceeds even the 26.7 million barrels agreed on in fall 2000, and signals OPEC's intent to correct the recent surge in oil prices.

BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES

Aug 30, 2004

Financial-sector shakedown afoot

Amid close scrutiny both in Japan and abroad, the integration of Japan's major banks is progressing at a rapid pace -- and triggering unprecedented legal battles in the process.

BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES

Aug 2, 2004

Supply of safe beef large enough to ignore odd U.S. trade demands

The question of whether to lift the import ban on U.S. beef is being closely watched, especially in terms of how it relates to another issue of high public interest -- when will people be able to eat "gyudon (beef bowls)" again?

BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES

Jun 28, 2004

Decline in savings rate a warning to reform-resistant politicians

As Japan continues to maintain a current account surplus, it will remain subject to overseas criticism that its people should spend more and save less. However, the truth is that Japan's savings ratio has rapidly declined over the past decade. Let us look at some data and discuss why this is happening, and what should be done.

BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES

May 31, 2004

Numbers show road to recovery fraught with inflationary risk

The preliminary GDP figures Japan released May 18 show that the gross domestic product in the January-March quarter expanded 1.4 percent (5.6 percent annualized) in real terms over the previous quarter. Compared with the same period in 2003, first-quarter GDP grew a robust 5.4 percent. The GDP has now expanded for five consecutive quarters -- an indication that the Japanese economy is already in the middle of a recovery phase.

BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES

May 3, 2004

Will intervention-happy BOJ see new risks as danger or deja vu?

Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui has entered his second year at the helm of the central bank, and in an economic climate radically different from the time when he first took up the job.

BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES

Mar 22, 2004

Japanese monetary authorities must take the risk of making sense

Japanese monetary authorities have been trying to keep the yen-dollar exchange rate above 105, and even to push it to 110. While their actions, of course, affect the sentiments of currency exchange dealers, we should realize that exchange rate fluctuations are determined not just by economic factors, but also political factors -- especially the risk of terrorism.

BUSINESS

Feb 23, 2004

G7 sweeps exchange-rate mess under global economic carpet

Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations gathered Feb. 6-7 in Florida, but the outcome of their talks stayed within the expectations of most currency market watchers — mainly because it wasn't clear what the G7 wanted to say.

BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES

Jan 26, 2004

Japan's lone intervention effort reveals poor risk management

Just a few weeks after the new year began, the U.S. dollar dropped to the 105 yen range for the first time in three years and four months, and also hit a new low of $1.28 against the euro.

BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES

Dec 22, 2003

Dollar's depreciation due more to towering twin debts than euro

With the euro being quoted above $1.20, the media are now reporting that the euro has advanced against the dollar. But you cannot tell for certain whether you are witnessing the euro's appreciation or the dollar's depreciation, merely by looking at the euro's exchange rate vis-a-vis the dollar. This is because, under the float system, an exchange rate simply reflects the relative value of the two currencies in question. To determine the real value of a currency, you need to have a third standard.

BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES

Nov 24, 2003

Japan's economic momentum reveals private-sector progress

Japan's gross domestic product for the July-September quarter, according to preliminary figures released by the Cabinet Office on Nov. 14, grew 0.6 over the previous quarter for an annualized expansion of 2.5 percent. Some have pointed out that this was slower than in the April-June quarter, when the GDP expanded 0.9 percent, but we should note that the nation's 0.6 percent growth was achieved on top of that strong performance.

BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES

Sep 22, 2003

Dwindling benefits cast doubt on rigid pension and deposit schemes

An insurance policy is an agreement whereby the payment of premiums and the receipt of benefits are inseparable. However, this fundamental principle is now being challenged by the nation's public insurance systems, which are creating anxiety and discontent by gradually denying policyholders freedom of choice. I would like to examine this problem by taking a closer look at the national public pension scheme, whose policyholders are individual Japanese, and the deposit insurance scheme, which is designed to cover our banks.

BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES

Sep 1, 2003

Surge in JGB issuance proves need for Koizumi reform drive

The preliminary GDP figures for the latest quarter, released Aug. 12, show that Japan's economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.3 percent in the April-June period. The economy is on a continuing uptrend, with GDP having expanded six quarters in a row since the January-March period of last year.

BUSINESS

Jul 28, 2003

Chinese currency system must face step-by-step liberalization

We recently hear a lot about the need for China to adjust the exchange rate of its currency, the yuan. In fact, Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan, during the U.S. Senate Banking Committee hearing July 16, said it is "increasingly evident" that China should allow its currency to trade freely on the market.

BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES

Jun 23, 2003

Fallout from Iraq war loosening dollar's global stranglehold

Until recently, the euro has been moving consistently higher against the other major currencies, at one point hitting highs of $1.20 and 140 yen. But its rise appears to have slowed now, with the new unified currency now stuck in the $1.17-$1.18 range.

BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES

May 26, 2003

Floating ABCPs on open market could repair interest rate gap

On May 17, the finance ministers of the world's major powers gathered in Deauville, France as part of efforts to set the stage for the annual Group of Eight summit in Evian. A statement adopted at the meeting urged Japan to pursue structural reforms in its financial and corporate sectors and overcome its deflationary woes.

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