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July 03, 2026
 

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Jesper Koll

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Jesper Koll
Despite steady leadership from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during rising global risks, her tenure so far lacks decisive economic vision, raising questions about whether she can use the current narrow window to pursue structural reforms.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 5, 2026
Takaichi’s path from crisis manager to ‘champion’ builder
Despite steady leadership amid global risks, Prime Minister Takaichi lacks decisive economic vision, leaving questions about whether she will seize the narrow window for reform.
2026 is shaping up as a year of competing forces for Japan, with strong underlying momentum and reform potential outweighed by the risks from inflation, geopolitics and policy missteps if leadership does not act decisively.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 8, 2026
The top 10 surprises for the Year of the Fire Horse
For 2026, the only certainty is that this year of the Fire Horse will be shaped both by existing trends that evolve and genuine surprises.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi talks with Japan’s then-leader, Shinzo Abe, her mentor, at the Lower House of Parliament in December 2014. Takaichi, under so-called Abenomics 2.0, must convert the nation’s asset boom into broad-based economic prosperity benefiting all. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 14, 2025
How Takaichi can make ‘Abenomics 2.0’ succeed
For now, there is absolutely no evidence that the rise in Japanese asset prices — both stocks and real estate — is feeding a positive wealth effect.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / Perspectives
Apr 4, 2021
Can COVID-19 turbocharge the ‘Asian century’?
If nothing else, the China-U.S. rivalry has forced Japan to become a genuine leader for Asia.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 7, 2021
Who is afraid of bursting the bubble? Not Japan’s elite
We will never know whether the elite’s proactive bursting of the bubble brought more or less pain and hardship on society than a laissez-faire approach would have.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 5, 2021
A new golden age for Japanese entrepreneurs
No matter how small the startup, because of COVID-19, it can finally hire people, build teams, invest in what always yields the highest returns for any new venture — human capital.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 29, 2020
Ten surprises that await Japan in 2021
Next year is poised to be a great year for Japan. My main predictions are unashamedly bullish: Exports will get a boost from a re-acceleration in global growth; there will be a surprise pickup in domestic demand with business investments kicking in and, most importantly, consumers will begin to open...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 13, 2020
Japanese capitalism can teach U.S. lessons in income growth and equality
There is no denying that Japan does have an underbelly of poor people, but compared to the United States, only relatively few are truly left behind financially.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 18, 2020
Putting Japan’s coming inheritance windfall to good use
The final journey of Japan’s baby boomers is poised to free up inheritance fund flows of as much as u00a5550 trillion (about $5 trillion) over the next ten years alone.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 10, 2020
Can Abe’s successor lead Japan to economic prosperity?
Incoming prime minister now faces corporate leaders in a sweet spot of unprecedented openness for potentially radical and creative evolution.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 6, 2020
The specter of financial socialism
The world needs a strong and confident narrative of free-market capitalism and liberal democracy more than ever.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 9, 2020
Preparing for a post-Abe agenda
To assure Japan’s future prosperity and success, open-minded, strong and decisive political leadership is necessary.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 11, 2020
Don’t bet against post-pandemic Japan
Japanese corporations are in an excellent position to use the global economic crisis as an opportunity.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 7, 2020
Toward a new and better ‘normal’
The forces toward digitalization unleashed by the COVID-19 crisis will make Japan stronger, more competitive and more prosperous.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 2, 2020
Policy goal: How to get from good to great
As Japanese and global policymakers are rushing to design policies to counter the looming economic depression, advice from one of my favorite economists, Jean-Baptiste Say, comes to mind. In 1803 he wrote: “In policy as well as in morality, the grand secret is not to constrain the actions, but to awaken...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 5, 2020
COVID-19 crash-testing Abenomics
The COVID-19 outbreak gives Japan’s private sector leaders a chance to turn crisis into opportunity.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 6, 2020
Japan’s problem? Too much competition
If you thought Japan was a prime example of socialism that works, think again.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 9, 2020
10 surprises for Japan in 2020
Japan’s prospects for the new year appear stellar.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets / the Argument: foreign investment
Jan 6, 2020
Japan’s foreign exchange law: New curbs on global investors won’t serve Japan’s broader national interests
The Argument is a feature dedicated to promoting dialogue and deeper understanding of contentious issues by introducing various viewpoints.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 5, 2019
Economic priorities beyond Abenomics
Japan must move beyond Abenomics to start a new era of confidence and sustained growth.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

Podcast

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

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The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
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