Tag - sentaku-magazine

 
 

SENTAKU MAGAZINE

COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jan 21, 2015
Abe targets Finance Ministry
Angered by its resistance to some of his policy measures, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appears bent on curbing the power of the Finance Ministry.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 30, 2014
China banking on projects
The key factor that has led Beijing to create the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank is the belief that creating new demand abroad is the only way to avoid a simultaneous collapse of local governments and state corporations.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 22, 2014
Real costs of nuclear power
Until now, Japan's power industry and the government have emphasized the lower energy costs from having nuclear plants generate the nation's electricity. And until now, consumers and business circles have bought into that myth.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Nov 25, 2014
A losing bet on green energy
A decision by power utilities to not buy electricity generated by renewable energy sources has caused huge problems for companies that invested heavily in the solar power business.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Nov 14, 2014
Why Abe will likely opt to call a snap Lower House election
Successive resignations of two female Cabinet members dealt a blow to the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. But should the opposition camp be credited for its attack that forced them to step down or did the administration manage to minimize the impact by counteracting quickly?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Oct 28, 2014
Organizational flaws, collusive ties taking a toll on the WHO
Critics of the World Health Organization say its inability to fight Ebola thus far can be traced not only to its own organizational problems but also to its 'collusive relations' with the pharmaceutical industry.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Oct 19, 2014
Abe's inner circle sprouting horns over next tax bump
A major battle appears to be brewing between the office of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Finance Ministry — the most powerful bureaucracy in Japan — over whether to raise the consumption tax from the current 8 percent to 10 percent next fall.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Sep 21, 2014
Rather than boon for Japan, U.S. shale oil is still rip-off
Japan's national wealth is draining away as its trading companies keeping paying premium prices for the oil on offer from the U.S. and the Middle East.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Sep 14, 2014
Next consumption tax raise painting Abe into a corner
Ever since the Cabinet Office released preliminary figures last month that showed an annualized 6.8 percent decline in first-quarter GDP, a war of nerves has flared up between the prime minister's office and the Finance Ministry. The next consumption tax hike could be delayed.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Aug 31, 2014
Abe faces roadblock this fall
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appears to be approaching a roadblock this fall in the form of defeat in the Okinawa gubernatorial election, possible chaos over the relocation of Futenma air station and mounting sentiment throughout Japan against U.S. military bases.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Aug 25, 2014
Japan awaits North Korean report on fate of abductees
It may soon become clear whether the Japanese government's decision to bet on the power and ability of North Korea's State Security Department to resolve the fate of past Japanese abductees was justified.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Aug 5, 2014
Abe's hollow Asia diplomacy
The Asia diplomacy — aka China-containment policy — of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is showing signs of falling apart amid irritation among Southeast Asian countries over the slow pace at which Abe's promises of assistance, equipment, and acceptance of foreign workers are being carried out.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jul 29, 2014
Abe's flawed contingency plan
If the barren state of Tokyo-Seoul ties continues, Shinzo Abe's call for the exercise of the right to collective self-defense as well as the protection of Japanese citizens on the Korean Peninsula in an emergency is doomed to become pie in the sky.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jul 1, 2014
China's 'shadow banking' challenge
A new financial service operated by China's biggest e-commerce firm Alibaba could crack open the country's economic system as it draws customers from the major state-owned commercial banks by paying higher interest rates to depositors.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jun 10, 2014
Abe treading on lions' tails
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tendency to stumble in building allied support whenever he makes an aggressive move appears most conspicious of late with his efforts to have Japan exercise its right to collective self-defense and to reform farm policy.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 30, 2014
TPP no longer about free trade
It appears that the Trans-Pacific Partnership will be degraded to a system of 'nonfree trade' that will increase the involvement of bureaucrats and inject huge subsidies to certain interest groups.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 20, 2014
Washington mixes signals about aims toward China
Even while reconfirming its 'pivot to Asia,' Washington tries to construct multifaceted bilateral ties with Beijing, raising questions about the ultimate fate of longtime alliances between the U.S. and a number of Asia-Pacific countries.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 4, 2014
Don't count on bubbles, wage hikes for more Asian growth
Japanese companies should realize the potential danger in relying on the continued expansion of Asian consumer spending, as it appears the region is headed for a period of economic stagnation.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Apr 22, 2014
Anti-Abe forces emerging
Little was heard from Yasuo Fukuda, nor was much said about him, after he stepped down as prime minister in 2008. In recent months, though, he has been sought out by some LDP leaders to help repair the damage to relations with South Korea and China, which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's style of diplomacy is said to have caused.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Mar 30, 2014
Kaoru Yosano, liberal patriot
Some people's traits are not recognized for a long time even by those close to them. One such person is Kaoru Yosano, a 75-year-old former Lower House member — and a liberal politician full of patriotic fervor.

Longform

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