Iida Yasuyuki, Professor, Meiji University Changing politics, society and security and the impact on the world economy What is the biggest economic risk that Japan will face as a consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? It is neither soaring energy prices nor inflation. It is the warping of decision-making on economic policy because of too much attention being paid to the huge changes in the international situation. News outlets file reports on devastated cities, countless victims and barbarous acts by the Russian military on a daily basis. The Ukrainian population is about 42 million (Russia about 147 million). The country’s GDP per capita is only about $3,700 (Russia’s is about $10,000), which really is not much at all, but the fact that a modern state in a corner of Europe has been hit with an all-out invasion will surely bring about large and ... ... [Read more]

  The Japan-U.S. alliance is founded on the notion of “bases in exchange for security” and Japan’s base issue is a domestic problem. However, the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty is ambiguous on the question of where the burden of the alliance’s costs lies, making Okinawa’s base problem difficult to resolve solely from the standpoint of a domestic dichotomy. Kawana Shinji, Associate Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology   This year marks the 50th anniversary of Okinawa’s reversion to Japanese administration. In this landmark year, Japan will hold House of Councillors elections, mayoral elections, local government elections in 7 cities and 11 towns and villages, and 30 municipal assembly elections. The major point of contention in the elections is likely to be the issue of relocating the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma (Futenma air base) to Henoko. In the face-off between the All Okinawa group, the Liberal ... ... [Read more]

Komine Takao, Professor, Taisho University   Key points Evaluating the value of the yen from an export sector and producer perspective Energy prices were stable when the yen depreciated in 2013 Aim to support yen appreciation on the back of enhanced economic strength   The depreciating yen together with the rise in imported energy prices has caused import prices to rise, with the ripple effect of a rise in domestic prices. In response, the “bad yen depreciation theory,” which holds that the weak yen will have a negative impact on the Japanese economy, has surfaced. This represents a significant departure from the dominant long-held notion in Japan that a weak yen is good news and a strong yen is bad news for the economy. This situation can be attributed to several factors. I begin with an overview of the economic impact of a weak ... ... [Read more]

Yamaguchi Ryutaro, Associate Professor, Ohtsuki City College   How do young people living in rural areas make a living? We think about how to best formulate policies to encourage young people to migrate to and settle in rural areas based on interviews with young people who know the reality of this way of life, including daily life, work, and connections with the local community. Introduction One of the goals of the reshuffled second Abe Cabinet, established in 2014, was to overcome population decline and vitalize local economies in the so-called regional revitalization project, seeking to rectify the unbalanced population concentration in the Tokyo metropolitan area as well as to revitalize and curb population decline in rural areas with a decreasing birthrate and aging population. This has been promoted through regional revitalization promotion grants, the transfer of government organizations to rural areas, the creation of ... ... [Read more]

Kariya Takehiko, Professor, Oxford University Arrival (December 20, 2021) At 15:40, the London to Tokyo direct flight touched down at Haneda Airport after a flight of a little less than twelve hours. When I booked the flight in October 2021, arrivals who had been double-vaccinated were exempt from quarantine at a facility. By December omicron variant infections were spreading in South Africa and there were also signs of the virus in Britain (53,945 confirmed infections on December 2, 2021). So, regardless of whether you were vaccinated or not, arrivals from Britain were required to spend six days in quarantine. Still, I was optimistic that I would clear quarantine in six days. After arrival, we were asked to wait in the cabin for thirty minutes for reasons of coordinating the barrage of formalities about to start. I was a little tense after leaving the plane ... ... [Read more]