Only Define: AI
A clear understanding of AI is crucial for businesses aiming to stay competitive. While AI, like Google's Bard (now Gemini), performs "intelligent" functions through algorithms and data, it fundamentally lacks human-like consciousness, self-awareness, or emotions.
The Day the Empire Lost Its Self-Respect
In this thought-provoking analysis, we explore the 1942 surrender of Singapore, an event that delivered a profound psychological shock to the British Empire. The article examines how this defeat, more than a military failure, forced the British to experience for the first time what it was like to be a colonized people, losing their self-respect to a rapidly modernizing Japan.
A Bold New Era: Why Hokkaido is Being Sold to China
To settle its massive national debt, Japan has announced the "sale" of Hokkaido to China. Struggling with a shrinking population and heavy government subsidies, the island will transition into a Chinese industrial hub. While the move serves as a geopolitical strategy against Russia, the shocking announcement ultimately reveals itself as a provocative April Fool’s joke.
Book Review: Japan and the Shackles of the Past – A Necessary and Unflinching Look
Japan and the Shackles of the Past argues that Japan's modernization is profoundly uneven, with economic strength contrasting with political and social weakness. The critique connects today's secretive, corrupt institutional elites directly to the Tokugawa period, highlighting a cultural "magic realism" where contradictory ideas coexist, creating systemic inertia. The book offers a crucial, clear-eyed perspective for understanding modern Japan's dilemmas.
The Japan Wage Story: Why Your Headlines Are Wrong
CLSA argues that official figures showing falling real wages in Japan are misleading. This decline is due to demographics: highly-paid baby-boomers retiring and women re-entering the workforce part-time. Given soaring corporate profits and the tightest labor market since 1993, household incomes are rising, and a significant wage boom is inevitable, despite current consumption weakness.
The Family Roots of Racism: A Toddian Perspective on Japan, Europe, and the US
French anthropologist Emmanuel Todd argues that national racism stems from deep-seated family structures. Egalitarian French families foster a "universal man" concept, focusing discrimination on cultural values. Conversely, the hierarchical "root family" in Japan and Germany drives beliefs in racial purity. The US, with its nuclear family, focuses its racism primarily on skin color, uniting white groups.
Shifting Sands: The New Divide in Japanese Politics
Attending a right-wing Japanese conference showed that the nation's political focus has shifted from economic distribution to divisive historical issues. This environment forces individuals and businesses to take a stance, risking their reputation or exclusion from the elite. The event, staunchly pro-Abe, lacked genuine opposition, showcasing a political landscape where identity politics and vested interests overshadow debates on economic fairness.
The Silent Voices of Hong Kong: Why Local Anger is Finally Exploding
Hong Kong's local Cantonese population—the unseen backbone—is finally voicing its anger against the city's plutocracy. Despite Hong Kong's immense wealth, locals are severely marginalized, facing massive inequality and an unfair labor market, while a wealthy elite profits. The protests reflect deep frustration with a globalization model that excludes them, though resistance faces a formidable challenge from a resolute Beijing leadership.
Is "Culture" Just a Convenient Excuse for Management Failure?
Analyzing business problems by simply citing 'culture' is the lowest form of management. True understanding requires examining economic and political factors, recognizing that national values stem from specific events like imperialism, and focusing on solvable local issues. The most sophisticated managers ignore the term altogether, prioritizing deep market knowledge over easy stereotypes.
The Japanese Countryside: A Horror Movie of 'Rurban' Sprawl
The Japanese countryside is a chaotic "rurban" sprawl, lacking the charm of European villages. Poor zoning, local corruption, and cheap construction have created an ugly patchwork. Ironically, current agricultural policies, a legacy of successful post-war reform, now cripple profitability and prevent scale, leaving villages lonely, depressed, and exploited. A choice must be made: export-focused farming or subsidized beautification.
"Revolution" or Evolution? Why a New Book from The Economist Misses the Mark
The Economist editor's book fails basic logic & neglects the 2008 financial crisis. It mislabels "evolution" as "revolution" and ignores the banking sector's role in weakening the Western state due to an ideological bias toward Hayek/Thatcher-era policies. A disappointing, biased review of governance.
The Robotics and Data Revolution
Masayoshi Son unveiled his vision: 30 million Intelligent Robots will solve Japan's labor crisis, increasing Productivity through 24/7 work. Coupled with Big Data in the Cloud, every company must become a Software Company to survive this Information Revolution.
Beyond the Boardroom: A "Reality Test" for Business Leaders
"The Reality Test" by Robert Rowland Smith challenges the idea that business is a purely rational pursuit, arguing that corporate strategies are often "fictions" that ignore messy reality. The book encourages leaders to focus on the human and organic side of their organizations, where genuine success is found by understanding the real forces that drive people and the market.
The Troubling Paradox of the SlutWalks
The SlutWalks movement aims to fight victim-blaming, but does it reveal deeper contradictions about sexual power and gender roles in modern society? I examine the paradoxical arguments of those who both flaunt their sexuality and dismiss its role in attraction, arguing that a focus on pure "power play" ignores a critical sexual component of violence.
Getting the Inside Scoop on Tokyo's New Governor and Olympic Plans
Tokyo's former Governor Masuzoe outlined his economic vision to optimize the city as a special economic zone, focusing on drug development and ageing technologies over rapid liberalization. He also clarified the controversial National Stadium plans for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, reassuring the public that the Meiji Shrine's main park is unaffected, despite the huge scale of the new Meiji Jingu Gaien venue. The new stadium, while massive, replaces old structures and maximizes floor space with new facilities.
The Spiritual Front: Why Japan’s Right Wing Is Unsettling
Japan's right-wing fight is spiritual: denying war guilt to reject postwar identity. Why does the regime's catastrophic failure (like Kurosawa's mass suicide plan) still appeal? It raises questions of modern nihilism.
Dancing with Duality: A Night with the Rolling Stones at Tokyo Dome
The Rolling Stones’ Tokyo Dome concert felt emotionally flat, though Mick Jagger’s presence was captivating. His graceful, childlike movements contrasted with signs of aging and highlighted his complex duality. Despite nostalgic appeal and iconic status, the performance lacked artistic depth. A powerful backing singer briefly stole the show, underscoring the band’s shift from musical force to cultural brand.
The Shadow of the Past: A Warning from Hong Kong
Geopolitical tensions over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands echo the 1930s appeasement failure. The author warns that a lack of imagination about the brutal speed of conflict—citing WWII—is the biggest risk, urging preparation for rapid crisis.
The Spartan Face of Japan: A Traditionalist's Dilemma
Ancient Sparta and modern Japan share a fear of change. This historicist view, where progress is seen as a decline, echoes Plato's philosophy. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, like past "Great Men," believes he can reverse this decline. However, this path risks repeating past mistakes, prioritizing a tribal, anti-reason mentality that historically has led to suicidal national behavior.
Drinking at the Old Bar
An evening of whiskey at the Imperial Hotel brought the author a paradoxical experience, simultaneously sharpening their senses with clarity while providing a comfortable mental fuzziness. However, this fleeting bliss was ultimately paid for with a hangover, reinforcing the simple truth that anything that makes you feel sick can't be good for you.