Japan’s economy

  • What Happens If “Lehman 2.0” Hits?

    Akio KAWATO . Today, May 7, the Japanese stock market surged, with the Nikkei reaching historic highs. Hopes for a ceasefire involving Iran also helped push stock prices upward. Yet beneath the surface, the financial markets of both Japan and the United States are showing troubling signs. In both countries, long-term interest rates are rising—meaning confidence in government bonds is…

  • Is Lehman 2.0 Around the Corner? What Happens If It Hits?

    　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Akio Kawato In September 2008, the collapse of Lehman Brothers brought the world economy to a temporary halt. Today, excess liquidity in Japan and the United States, stock market bubbles, and ever-expanding fiscal deficits are raising fears of “another 2008.” Yet even if the next crisis resembles 2008, the scenery will be somewhat different. That difference is worth examining. .…

  • Miscellaneous Thoughts on the Osaka Economy

    (This is an old article of mine dated June of 2005. But it still holds some relevance for understanding the nature of Japan’s and Osaka’s economy. Osaka has been the center of Japan’s commerce and industrry) . The following are the ideas that came across my mind during my business trip to Osaka from May 26 to 28 of 2005.…

  • The AI Rush; But Does It Have To Be So Expensive?

    These days, whenever AI comes up—NVIDIA, xAI, all that world—people casually throw around figures in the tens of billions of dollars. It sounds almost surreal. Then again, maybe this is exactly how early 19th-century Britain must have felt when iron, railways, and chemicals suddenly replaced cotton as the engines of growth. Compared with spinning mills, the money required must have…

  • Japan Is Richer Than Its GDP Suggests

    (This essay first appeared in Newsweek Japan in 2011. The basic situation has not changed very much since then, so I am reposting it here. I plan to update the argument soon—although the U.S. or even the global economy might collapse before I get the chance.) ・ These days I often hear Japanese friends complain, “Japan has become poor.” When…