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May 02, 2024
 

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Noriko Hama
For Noriko Hama's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Aug 3, 2009
The Great Recession's five-act drama might end up being a tragedy
"All the world's a stage." So says the Bard, and who are we to argue? The global economy is certainly not short on drama these days.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 29, 2009
Two cheers from the grave punctuate the nationalization of GM
The automaker General Motors filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, and there are surely two people rejoicing in their graves at the news. One of them is John DeLorean. The other is Clement Attlee.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Apr 20, 2009
Aso's gift-tax cut for rich puts wealth gap issue on back burner
Who are the people that are suffering the most as this global depression unfolds? Clearly, it is the weakest members of society who are getting the worst deal. That, sadly, is the way it has always worked. There's not much that can be done about this particular fact of life.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 16, 2009
Survival instincts need rethink before killer disease spreads
We used to think that SARS was the killer disease. No doubt it still is. But at least it seems dormant for the moment. In its place we now have a potentially more potent epidemic going around that looks set to engulf the whole world. I hereby christen that disease SLICS. This is short for "So long as I can survive."
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Feb 2, 2009
Themes of adulthood, inclusiveness set tone for remaking America
In his inaugural address as 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama said: "We remain a young nation but, in the words of the Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things."
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 29, 2008
Finance, goods must reconcile to restore economic partnership
Crises come and crises go, but this one seems to be in a class of its own. And now that it has arrived, it doesn't look like it's going away anytime soon.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 1, 2008
Aso reveals more than wealth gap with kanji-reading blunders
So now we know. Aso the "manga" man cannot read Japanese. At least not when it is written in kanji. The newspapers have been full of revelations these past few weeks about Prime Minister Taro Aso's slipups in the art of kanji deciphering.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Nov 3, 2008
Halloween in Japan: a commercial break from global nightmare
Since when was Halloween such a big thing in Japan? Admittedly, you could see it coming these past few years. But this autumn it is simply everywhere.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Oct 6, 2008
Japan has nothing to fear but fearlessness
The accepted wisdom seems to be that Japan is being less affected than most by the ongoing banking crisis. I wouldn't bank on it.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Sep 1, 2008
WTO should remember global equals multilateral, not bilateral refereeing
When the Doha Round of trade negotiations broke down some weeks ago, no one was particularly surprised. Nor did anyone seem to care all that much.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Aug 4, 2008
Keeping the global circus in business a matter of balance
Does the presence of a safety net make people too reckless, lazy and dependent? Or does it allow people to experiment, develop skills in a secure environment and prevent the penalization of healthy high spirits.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 30, 2008
What gold is telling us about global economy
Look at these numbers: 21, 35 and 1,000. What kind of vital statistics would you say these were? The amount of calories you need to deny yourself to get back into shape? The number needed on your point card to earn the cash back you covet at your local supermarket?
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 26, 2008
In a world lacking heroes against poverty and inflation, Don Quixote, where are you?
As surely as night follows day, credit crunches are followed by recessions, if not great depressions. Whether we are on the verge of a 21st century version of the 1930s, however, still remains to be seen.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Apr 28, 2008
Closing of global mind bodes ill for future of globalization
"The Closing of the American Mind" is a book that no doubt many readers will be familiar with. As an indictment of higher education and the corrosion of the intellect in 1980s America, this book caused a sensation and earned well deserved acclaim. I am reminded of this title because we seem to be suffering from something of a closing of the global mind these days.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 31, 2008
The vacancy at the BOJ and the merits of emptiness
Nature abhors a vacuum. So said Aristotle. Human beings also abhor a vacuum. Especially when they are LDP politicians in search of a new governor for the Bank of Japan.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 3, 2008
No place for celebrity currencies in global jungle
Just recently I took part in a very interesting discussion program for NHK television in which economists and strategists from around the world came together to debate the state of the global economy and what kind of a beating the financial markets were liable to take as a result of the ongoing subprime securitization crisis.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jan 28, 2008
Nightmare becomes reality: Classic credit crunch leaves policymakers floundering
In this column last month, I talked about the nightmarish possibility of a global financial crash. Well, a month is a long time in economics, and the nightmare has well and truly become reality.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 31, 2007
'08 to see nightmare of globalization, or alert central banks?
Looking back at what I wrote in this space this time last year, I find that I was dreaming of a Japan of the United States, in which the regions become city states unto their own and make Japan a generally more interesting place. The dream still remains but a dream. But I keep hoping.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 3, 2007
Wrathful gods bear down on sinful global economy
'W rath of Gods" is the title of an award-winning documentary directed by Jon Gustafsson, the Iceland-born filmmaker. It could equally be the title of a documentary about the state of the global economy as it stands in November 2008.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Oct 29, 2007
Sovereign vultures look Adam Smith in the eye
When Adam Smith wrote "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations" in 1776, the industrial revolution had entered its second decade and the relationship between nations and their wealth was still relatively straightforward.
'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.
Did Japan intervene to prop up the yen? Analysts think it did.
A man walks past an electronic board displaying the exchange rate for the yen against the U.S. dollar (right) in Tokyo on Tuesday.
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.
Number of vacant homes in Japan hits record high of 9 million
A vacant house in Tokyo is seen demolished in January 2020.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
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.

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