current affairs

Recently I had a conversation with a friend who is specialized in economic research and asked questions regarding Japan’s current financial status: Is Japan at serious risk having overwhelmingly higher national debt to GDP compared to other developed nations? Which is preferable to Japan, having a weak yen or strong yen? Is the argument around the Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) these days unreasonable?   Is inequality indeed worsening in developed countries? By looking at the numbers he presented, I was once again shocked. The following are major countries’ external net assets data: According to the table summarizes major countries’ external net ...

The oil market is in turmoil. In addition to decreased demand due to the spread of Coronavirus, Saudi Arabia and Russia failed to reach an agreement regarding a reduction in oil production. Saudi Arabia has decided to go ahead and increase its oil production, which caused a sharp drop in the oil price to less than 20 USD per barrel. For oil importers, it is certainly preferable that the price of oil has fallen, but for oil exporting countries, it has a huge economic impact and will inevitably lead to political instability. To understand the context, there are several important ...

I just tried fasting recently. Fasting is basically refraining from eating for a period of time. I have been interested in trying it, and since my weight is constantly on the rise these days, I decided to give it a go. Here is the breakdown of what I did: 2 days of pre-fast (preparatory) meals, 5 days of fasting, and 3 days of post-fast (recovery) meals. For the pre-fasting and post-fasting, non-plant proteins such as meat, fish, and eggs must be avoided. During the fast days, taking sips of diluted fermented drink, eating an umeboshi (pickled plum), and having a ...

Japanese companies are finally taking serious steps to apply diversity and inclusion in their business practices. Promoting diversity has various meanings, including female leadership and hiring persons with disabilities, but I feel that many companies have not reached a full understanding of what it entails. I think that what is happening now is that the population in the country is sharply declining, consequently causing a decrease in the labor force and thus giving companies no choice but to consider diversity as a way to supplement their workforce. I suspect that this may be the real motive for many companies. The ...