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July 06, 2025
 

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Michael Spence
One thing is clear: The era of global interdependence, built on efficiency and mutually beneficial arrangements before U.S. President Donald Trump returned to power, has come to an end.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 10, 2025
Navigating the Trump storm
Trump's second term aims to reshape the global trade system, challenging the current world order with rising tariffs and economic uncertainty.
While short-term disruptions like inflation are easing, the European Union faces long-term challenges including rising security risks, a widening productivity gap with the U.S. and an innovation deficit.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 15, 2024
Europe needs a new economic vision
The global economic shocks of the past few years have left Europe particularly vulnerable.
Bill Gates delivers a speech at the Global Solutions Summit in Berlin in May. He and his ex-wife Melinda Gates started the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has had a far-reaching impact on global health and sustainability.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 5, 2024
The economics of philanthropy
Philanthropy can help bridge the gap between the haves and have-nots. But wealthy people need more of an incentive to give than just being altruistic.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares to address a joint session of parliament in New Delhi in June 2019.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2024
Making sense of society
In a world that is becoming fragmented within and across countries, it is easy to lose hope for social and economic progress.
While broad-based action at the COP28 summit is critical, the fact is that just a few key actors such as the U.S., China and India have the power to bring about a radical reduction in global emissions.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 6, 2023
COP28 can deliver progress on climate change, but will it?
Committed global climate action at every level of government, the economy, and society is needed to tackle such a complex, multifaceted challenge.
Artificial intelligence may well enable the automation of many tasks and the replacement of some workers. But AI tools are still fallible and are unlikely to replace humans any time soon.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2023
AI and the productivity imperative
The global economic outlook for the next decade appears grim. But a surge in productivity — fueled by artificial intelligence — could change that picture.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 2023
The governance threat to global economic prosperity
The past few years have been characterized by growing political instability, which increases the risk of abrupt policy reversals that could dampen investment and undermine global economic growth.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 9, 2023
The U.S. and China's destructive decoupling
U.S. and Chinese leaders seem to have fully accepted the logic of economic decoupling. But what exactly will decoupling entail and what will its consequences be?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 2, 2023
Is a 1.5 degree Celsius climate objective just a pipe dream?
Continuing to tout the unrealistic 1.5 C global warming goal is unrealistic; but setting a more feasible target raises risks of its own.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 28, 2022
Done with deglobalization?
The global economy's dire and deteriorating prospects, together with the scale of the climate challenge, have opened world leaders' eyes to the risks that deglobalization poses.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 20, 2022
The global economy and secular inflation
After enjoying a long period of deflationary conditions, the global economy is being pushed by a wide range of forces toward a new and more difficult equilibrium.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 2022
The supply-side fight against inflation
A recession can be avoided if policymakers recognize the large role that supply-side measures must play in restoring price stability.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2022
The global economy in transition
The green transition is a powerful mechanism for increasing resilience and reducing vulnerability to the weaponization of energy supplies.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 9, 2022
Good U.S.-China strategic competition
The world needs a benign form of strategic competition more than ever, where countries strive to reach the forefront of innovation without trying to prevent others from challenging them.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 17, 2022
Regime change in the global economy
The Lewis turning point is being reached in developing countries as their expanding export sectors are absorbing the surplus labor in traditional sectors like agriculture.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2022
Is strategic cooperation between the U.S. and China possible?
Attitudes on both sides are hardening, with Washington and Beijing settling into a comfortable but unproductive certitude that it occupies the moral high ground.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2021
Is the global supply chain blockage here to stay?
Complex global supply networks work efficiently in normal times, but they are not prepared for COVID-19-like shocks.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 3, 2021
If COVID-19 wasn’t worry enough, the climate crisis comes roaring back
The most eye-opening development of the past three months has not been the COVID-19 pandemic, but the dramatic increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2021
How great powers should compete
Many in the West disapprove of China's single-party governance structure, just as vocal elements in China disparage Western liberal democracy, which they argue is in terminal decline.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 18, 2021
The expected high-growth sectors in the post-recovery decade
Businesses that survived the pandemic closures (many with support from fiscal programs) will experience rapid expansion, powered by pent-up demand.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
U.S. military apologizes over Okinawa sexual assault case
Col. Neil Owens (right), chief of staff for the 3rd Marine Division, bows in apology at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

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