For Hiroshi Yamagiwa's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Masaru Kaneko calls himself an "al-Qaeda" among economic academics, noting that his position has won him no sympathy from the mainstream. The Keio University professor is harshly critical of mainstream economists, labeling them "market fundamentalists" who believe the market mechanism is omnipotent but cannot explain ...
Small and midsize manufacturers don't make for as flashy headlines as giants like Sony and Toyota. They are sometimes even collectively considered a symbol of a debt-laden Japan Inc. Now that China has risen as a low-cost production power, are small and midsize Japanese manufacturers ...
Watching World Cup soccer games may give corporate managers a good clue about productive organization. Shunsuke Takahashi, an expert on human resources management, said that in a "soccer style" organization, team members work autonomously and flexibly. Even defenders can take shots on goal. This contrasts ...
Economists always disagree on how to mend Japan's flagging economy. Some say the government should spend more, while others insist on austerity. Some urge the Bank of Japan to do everything possible to create inflation. Others warn that such a policy would risk destroying the ...
If you believe that Japan's distribution system is inefficient and does consumers no good, try telling that to Masahiro Matsuoka. According to the managing director and head of equity research at UBS Warburg (Japan) Ltd., wholesalers in Japan -- unlike those in the United States ...
Hajime Yamazaki must be an enemy of mutual fund companies. The popular investment consultant goes out of his way to criticize what he calls U.S.-style investment education, which is widely used to sell mutual funds, or investment trust funds, in Japan. "American-style investment education is not ...
Many people blame the government for the nation's prolonged economic slump. But business consultant Tadashi Saegusa believes companies that delay internal restructuring are the prime culprits. "Consumers aside, an economy is basically an aggregate of companies. If companies' management is dull, the Japanese economy naturally ...
Katsuyuki Kumagai has witnessed an abundance of corporate bankruptcies during his 17-year tenure at a credit research firm. Katsuyuki Kumagai His official prediction that Japan would suffer a rush of bankruptcies beginning this year, however, has thus far proved less accurate than his standards would demand. "The ...
Staff writer Hiroki Totoki is a Sony Bank director and an accidental author. Hiroki Totoki talks about the launch of Sony's online banking venture. When he launched a weekly e-mail magazine in late January describing the making of the Internet bank, he did not expect his ...
Regardless of the outcome of the U.S. presidential race, Japan will continue talks with the new administration regarding Okinawa Prefecture's demand for a 15-year limit on the U.S. military's use of a planned new airfield there, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Thursday. Tokyo's policy ...
