author

 
 

Meta

Robert Samuelson
For Robert Samuelson's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2016
Why the presidential campaign was so nasty
A new book explains the role of a monstrous disconnect between economic realities and political imperatives.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 24, 2016
Are we heading toward Financial Crisis 2.0?
Developments in the world economy threaten to create problems for the next U.S. president and, possibly, trigger a major financial crisis.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 3, 2016
Donald Trump's best friend is Rosy Scenario
The Republican candidate's economic plan relies on unrealistic visions of rapid growth and boundless tax revenue.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 15, 2016
In America, print books are down but far from out
Book reading, while not exactly booming, seems to be holding its own against the onslaught of new digital technologies.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 6, 2016
Ending American poverty: mission impossible?
There's no powerful mandate for a vast new anti-poverty program.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2016
U.S. economy sends mixed signals
The most reliable economic indicators are not enlightening, because they're telling opposite stories.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2016
The comeback of middle-wage jobs in America
Middle-wage workers are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. labor market, but can America's education system to provide the skills that the economy now demands?
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 28, 2016
Rise of the robots is not the future we should fear
Lost jobs and destroyed industries give way, over time, to new industries and jobs.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2016
Can the private sector save the U.S. economy?
Why is the U.S. economy taking so long to recover from the Great Recession?
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2016
A hacked presidential vote would be a disaster
A worse danger than the DNC episode looms: the possibility that hackers will manipulate U.S. voting machines.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 25, 2016
Paradise lost: the revenge of unrealistic hopes
U.S. voters are angry at the perceived discrepancy between today and a romanticized past.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2016
Since the '60s, imperfect progress on race
African-Americans have it better now than they did in the 1960s, but the progress has been woefully uneven.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 17, 2016
U.S. candidates are getting globalization wrong
The best thing the U.S. can do to improve its international competitiveness is to strengthen its domestic economy.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 12, 2016
The end of America's love affair with cars?
The quintessential symbol of American mobility may be losing its grip on the national psyche.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 11, 2016
Don't worry about a robot invasion just yet
Numerous factors argue against the doomsday specter of robots creating mass unemployment.
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 2016
Andrew Jackson's reckoning with paper money
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew's decision to replace Andrew Jackson on the front of the $20 bill reminds us of a delicious historic irony: He was an ardent critic of paper money.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 23, 2016
Are U.S. firms running a competition deficit?
Facing slow growth and greater uncertainty, companies are trying to cut costs by getting bigger. But this does not sit well with traditional antitrust thinking.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 13, 2016
No end in sight to once-booming Brazil's crises
No one knows where the Latin American nation's mix of economic disappointment and political disillusion is leading.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 5, 2016
'Trumpanomics' amounts to fantasy over fact
Donald Trump's math-challenged budget is awash in glaring contradictions.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 4, 2016
Trade realities take a beating in U.S. politics
In this bitter U.S. presidential campaign, one area of agreement unites the major candidates: they're all against big trade deals.

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