Wuhan Coronavirus Rings Economic Alarms
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the last half of January 2020.
Tag Archives: Kasumigaseki (Tokyo)
The Abe Climate COP Out
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the first half of December 2019.
Burying the Lessons of the Iraq War
There is probably no better method of predicting what people and institutions might do in the future than to have an accurate understanding of their behavior in the past. So much of what is popularly taken as surprising and “unpredictable” might easily have been foreseen by a better knowledge of the contexts, experiences, and the previous actions of the players involved in the construction of an event. When powerholders attempt to suppress the records of official behavior, it is therefore not simply the concern of a handful of cloistered intellectuals, but a matter that can be expected to have real-world impact on future policymaking and the fate of ordinary citizens.
Yoshimi Watanabe Loses His Soul
Since its foundation in August 2009, Yoshimi Watanabe’s Your Party has been a bit player, but usually an interesting one. What set Your Party apart from a host of many other short-lived outfits was its relatively clear policy identity. This was the party of free enterprise, neoliberal economics, deregulation, and limited, preferably decentralized, government.
Occupy Movement Anti-Nuclear Protest Camp
A small band of anti-nuclear protesters have made a camp in front of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. One evening we visited them and asked them why they were there.
