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April 29, 2024
 

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Michael Spence
For Michael Spence's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 11, 2020
What my younger self never expected
At the start of a new year and a new decade, it is both humbling and illuminating to reflect on major global developments that no one saw coming just a few decades ago.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 29, 2019
The consequences of global uncertainty
A broad economic slowdown should come as no surprise.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2019
How inequality hampers economic growth
With job and income polarization having increased across all developed economies, the unrest in France should serve as a wake-up call to others.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 28, 2018
The long Sino-American trade war
The trade war initiated by the Trump administration seems less like a tough negotiating tactic and more like a guessing game.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2018
The restructuring of the world
The global economy is undergoing a far-reaching transformation.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 27, 2018
Emerging vulnerabilities in emerging economies
For many emerging economies, it is imperative to pursue a rebalancing of growth patterns, with a more active approach to managing debt and capital flows and their effects on asset prices, exchange rates, and growth. Otherwise, the dangers of unsustainable growth patterns will bring expansion to an abrupt halt.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 3, 2018
Keep regulation from leading to the internet's Balkanization
If regulation of the internet is fragmented, clumsy, heavy-handed or inconsistent, the consequences for economic integration — and, in turn, prosperity — could be severe.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 29, 2018
Making migration work
The U.N. is right to underscore the benefits of broad-based international cooperation on migration, but to be politically acceptable in virtually any country, such cooperation must respect national sovereignty.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2017
The state of the global economy in 2018
Economic power and influence will continue to shift from west to east next year, with no obvious convulsions on the horizon.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 4, 2017
Reprieve or reform in Europe?
Unless Europe addresses flaws in growth patterns and pursues urgent reforms, the longer-term risks to its survival will continue to mount.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2017
Europe or anti-Europe?
The eurozone is stuck in a semi-permanent economic malaise, which could destroy it.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 30, 2016
Brexit, Trump and a new economic order
Multilateralism is giving way to national self-interest. As inequality across countries has declined, inequality within countries has surged — to the point that the reversal of priorities was probably inevitable.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2016
How to fight secular stagnation
There are different types of forces that could be suppressing economic growth, not all of which are beyond our control.
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2016
Managing debt in our overleveraged world
Since the 2008 global financial crisis, austerity and balance-sheet repair have been the watchwords of the global economy. And yet today, more than ever, debt is fueling concern about growth.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 25, 2016
Growth vs. political instability
How can the West improve its economic performance at a time when political instability is impeding effective policymaking?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 1, 2016
In search of growth strategies
Restoring growth to the global economy will require the removal of obstacles to investment, efforts to fix dysfunctional labor markets and measures to counteract rising inequality.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2015
The Fed's risk to emerging economies
While the Fed's rate hike, prudently accompanied by an emphasis on small and gradual steps, may not turn out to be a trigger, the concerns about the knock-on effects are legitimate.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 1, 2015
The inexorable logic of the sharing economy
Today's sharing-economy companies like Amazon and eBay have left their infancy, and their services will one day be ubiquitous.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 4, 2015
Automation doesn't always improve productivity
Common sense says a business that invests in automation will be more productive, but the statistics tell a different story.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2015
Letting China's bubble burst
If Chinese regulators allow the stock market to correct, institutional investors with a long-term value orientation will ultimately step in, enhancing the market's stability.
Number of homeless in Japan hits record low
Homeless people sleep on the street in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in August 2021.
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.
JAL cancels international flight after captain gets drunk at Dallas hotel
A Japan Airlines' flight from Dallas to Tokyo was canceled last week after its captain got drunk at a local hotel.
In Japan, regional revitalization fails to halt population decline
Sakiyama elementary school in Tamba, Hyogo Prefecture, in March .Over the past decade, the government has directed efforts toward policies designed to give young people incentives to base themselves in rural areas.
Putin’s war will soon reach Russians’ tax bills
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting in St. Petersburg on Friday.
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.
Kyotographie's strong 12th edition shines light into the margins
Yassine Alaoui Ismaili, who goes by Yoriyas, turned to photography, shooting motion while in motion himself, after an injury forced him to give up his career as a professional breakdancer.

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

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