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Shigeru Ishiba's nascent administration is attracting something of a reputation for flip-flopping — and it hasn’t even been a week.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Oct 4, 2024

Don’t take Japan's new leader literally. But should you take him seriously?

Ishiba will discover that his supply of capital with the public will run out quickly if he offers no break from his predecessor.

A woman holds up sign reading "defeat Ishiba," Japan's new prime minister, as a small group of protesters gather outside the parliament building in Tokyo on Tuesday.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Oct 1, 2024

Japan’s new leader has barely the concept of a plan

If Ishiba follows through on some of his stated policies, that might be where the endearment ends.

Then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe celebrates in Tokyo with party rival Shigeru Ishiba after Abe won the Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership vote in September 2018.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Sep 29, 2024

Shigeru Ishiba made his career as an anti-Abe

Over the years, Ishiba's opposition earned him few friends; indeed, he has a reputation for being a "traitor” due to his public criticism of party orthodoxy.

Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a campaign meeting on Sept. 12 in Tokyo in the lead-up to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election scheduled for Friday.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Sep 24, 2024

Japan’s next leader will be different — and flawed

While nine LDP lawmakers are contesting the race to become the country’s next leader, the field has narrowed to just three.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Sep 18, 2024

PS5 Pro price is a sticker shock for the country that made the PlayStation

With even an entry-level PS5 now costing some ¥72,980 following the latest hike last month, an entire generation of Japanese could be cut off.

Ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader and prime minister, Fumio Kishida, attends a campaign event with then-LDP candidate Junko Mihara and lawmaker Shinjiro Koizumi (left) in Kawasaki in July 2022. Koizumi is viewed as a potential front-runner in the party's upcoming leadership contest.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Sep 10, 2024

Japan’s public wants change. Can the ruling party deliver?

The LDP's upcoming leadership contest features a diverse field of candidates, including Shinjiro Koizumi, who is viewed as a potential front-runner.

Osaka is set to open Grand Green Osaka in the city’s Umekita area. It is a sprawling redevelopment that combines a park with mixed-use skyscrapers and is part of a push to rejuvenate the merchant city.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Sep 5, 2024

Japan’s second city can finally make Tokyo jealous

For the first time in years, Osaka has something that will make Tokyoites jealous. It might also serve as a symbol of the merchant city’s push for a comeback.

Alimentation Couche-Tard’s bid to acquire Japan’s Seven & I Holdings has sparked discussions about Japan’s approach to foreign investment and whether rejecting or accepting the bid reflects an openness to international business.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Sep 4, 2024

7-Eleven deserves more than shareholder supremacy

While Japan should consider investor interests, it should not forsake the broader social and community benefits that its businesses provide.

Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda "predictably unpredictable" actions and policy shifts highlight the need for improved communication, reflecting modern central banking practices.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Aug 28, 2024

How long can the BOJ get away with rate shocks?

The BOJ’s shifting policies and Kazuo Ueda’s unpredictable approach reflect the need for better alignment with modern central banking practices.

A cardboard cutout of the Monkey King character, or Sun Wukong, from the Chinese action role-playing game Black Myth: Wukong is displayed on the day of its launch in Beijing on Aug. 20.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Aug 27, 2024

Black myth, Black samurai and gaming nationalism

While China has to date enjoyed success in mobile and PC gaming, those lucrative sectors carry relatively little prestige. That makes Wukong’s breakout a landmark event.

The 7-Eleven convenience store chain, a deeply ingrained part of modern Japanese life, faces a potential takeover by Canadian company Alimentation Couche-Tard.

COMMENTARY

Aug 21, 2024

A 7-Eleven buyout would stretch Japan’s appetite for M&A

The country’s convenience stores have become essential to daily life. That has many fearing the prospect of a foreign takeover.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s decision to step down as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader has thrown the race for his successor into uncertainty.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Aug 15, 2024

Kishida’s resignation opens the door to a chaotic era

With Fumio Kishida's resignation, the LDP faces a crucial election next month with no clear front-runner to become its next leader.

A man makes his way along an earthquake-damaged street in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in January. With last week's tremors in Kyushu and the nature of the Nankai Trough, some experts believe that the omens of a disaster can be seen.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Aug 11, 2024

Japan is living in the shadow of the megaquake

People tend to view the quake threat in the abstract. It’s kind of like thinking about death — I know I’ll die someday, but I hope it won’t be today.

The turmoil affecting global markets came on the heels of Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda’s decision to raise rates, but you can't fault him given the volatile worldwide economic conditions.

COMMENTARY

Aug 6, 2024

Tokyo market rout — oops, the BOJ did it again

Japan’s central bank isn’t responsible for the bloodbath. But it’s reliving a terrible habit of hiking rates at the worst possible time.

A return to the world with interest will almost certainly mean an increase in the bifurcation of Japan's haves and have-nots.

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 5, 2024

Is Japan ready for a ‘world with interest?’

Ever since Ueda arrived at the central bank 15 months ago, economists have been debating what the "world with interest” will look like.

Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda holds a news conference at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday. The bank raised rates to 0.25% in just the second hike since 2007.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Aug 1, 2024

Ueda’s big day was lost in a communication black hole

The BOJ should improve its information release process, including fixing leaks and setting fixed release times, to avoid similar issues in the future.

While Japan’s media may influence global perceptions of robots as friendly and lovable, the near-future robots will likely not match the capabilities or roles depicted in TV show's like "Sunny."

COMMENTARY / Japan

Jul 25, 2024

Japan isn't the 'robotopia' Apple TV's 'Sunny' portrays

One of the reasons we still see relatively few robots doing the menial jobs is that human labor is cheap.

Paris is preparing to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which start on Friday. These Summer Games will likely be very different from the previous ones, held in Tokyo in 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Jul 22, 2024

In defense of Tokyo 2020, the loneliest Olympics

As Paris gets ready to host the Olympics, a reflection on the previous Games, held in Tokyo three years ago, prompts doubts about predictions of a COVID-induced disaster.

Japan's tradition of offering investors gifts is nice. But with the stock market at record highs, such perks are no longer needed.

COMMENTARY

Jul 18, 2024

It’s time Japan's shareholders buy their own wine

The practice by Japanese companies of giving gifts once served as a good way to encourage trading novices to dabble in the stock market.

Everyone should relax as Japan’s capital, Tokyo, isn’t ripping out thousands of trees to redevelop the famed Jingu Gaien park. Quite the opposite is planned.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Jul 12, 2024

Tokyo's Jingu Gaien is at the center of an urban debate amid a redevelopment rift

Concerns about plans for Tokyo's Jingu Gaien may be exaggerated, as key trees will be preserved and more green space will be created post-development.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.

Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.

By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

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