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Mark John
For Mark John's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Pedestrians in Piazza Cordusio in Milan. Europe's fertility rate has been stuck around 1.5 births per woman for the past decade.
WORLD / Society / ANALYSIS
Feb 16, 2024
How Europe can dodge a birth rate hard landing
Europe's fertility rate has been stuck around 1.5 births per woman for the past decade, far short of the 2.1 needed to maintain population levels.
Jesus Picasso, a builder originally from Mexico, takes a water break during hot weather in Manvel, Texas, on July 13.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Sep 7, 2023
Climate change already adding to workplace costs and hazards
Workers are among the most exposed to serious health risks, while employers must grapple with impaired productivity
Containers stored at the Yangshan Deep-Water Port in Shanghai in 2020
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2023
Not decoupling, but West and China drift apart
Official data showed a 14.5% drop in July exports amid weak consumer demand in the world markets served by China — the fastest decline since the pandemic.
Members and supporters of the San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance attend a rally outside the California Public Utilities Commission headquarters in San Francisco on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 8, 2023
Will AI be an economic blessing or curse? History offers clues
History shows the economic impact of technological advances is generally uncertain, unequal and sometimes outright malign.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 10, 2023
Shock of war hits a world economy at a crossroads
A year of war in Ukraine has already made a dent in world prosperity. But its deeper impact will be felt in how the conflict plays into shifts that were already reshaping the global economy.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Dec 21, 2022
World economy bets on China learning to live with COVID
Those who believe the world economy can avoid the hardest of landings next year are watching China closely.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Aug 12, 2022
Climate change and scarcity chip away at de-growth taboo
De-growth — the idea that a finite planet cannot sustain ever-increasing consumption — is about the closest you can get to a heresy in economics.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Feb 12, 2022
World's damaged supply chains brace for painful recovery
Trade channels have become so clogged it could be into 2023 before the worst-hit industries see business remotely as usual — even without a turn in the pandemic.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Nov 18, 2021
Pandemic debt adds to challenge of funding world's climate goals
Spending by governments kept the world economy afloat during the pandemic, but the resulting pile of debt will leave many nations with vulnerable finances.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Jul 16, 2021
EU challenges partners to keep up with new ambitious climate measures
The question now is whether the EU gambit becomes an established benchmark upon which investors and sectors set transition strategies, and how big emitters respond.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Oct 18, 2019
U.K. heading for 'fairly hard' Brexit if Johnson deal passes
If Prime Minister Boris Johnson wins parliamentary backing for the Brexit deal he clinched with Brussels on Thursday, Britain will be on course for more distant economic ties with the European Union, making the country poorer.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores