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December 07, 2025
 

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Daniel Moss
Currency forecasts can be unreliable, as the yen¡¯s recent weakness highlights the limits of intervention and the influence of narratives over economic fundamentals.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 28, 2025
We need to shatter one big myth about the weak yen
That the PM's extra budget, amounting to less than 3% of GDP, should trigger the weakening seen in recent weeks makes little sense ¡ª particularly given record tax revenue.
The People's Bank of China Gov. Pan Gongsheng addresses the Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai on June 18. The nation's central bank is resisting the global habit of cutting rates as insurance against economic risks.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 26, 2025
Don¡¯t fight the fed. But is China worth a shot?
While the PBOC can¡¯t shake the global economy in quite the same way, and doesn¡¯t have the same independence as the Fed, its sway is significant.
Despite concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and global trade disruptions, the dollar remains dominant in global finance, with the Chinese yuan gaining ground but still far from challenging its supremacy.
COMMENTARY
Oct 8, 2025
Best evidence yet that the U.S. dollar isn¡¯t close to being dead
The dollar was on one side of 89.2% of all trades, up a touch from the 2022 result.
James Baker speaks at the funeral service for former U.S. President George Bush in Houston in December 2018. As Treasury secretary in 1985, he was the key U.S. negotiator of the Plaza Accord, the landmark deal to weaken the dollar and realign global currencies.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 22, 2025
Why the Plaza Accord is still the gold standard
Rather than grieve Plaza, salute it. The deal reflected a confluence of national interest, diplomatic nous and a sense that common interests dictated collaboration.
Australia¡¯s past economic ¡°golden ages¡± show how bold reforms drove growth, but policymakers now face the challenge of boosting productivity and preparing the nation for a more competitive global environment.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 16, 2025
Can Australia achieve a third economic golden age?
The ¡¯80s and ¡¯90s were the heydays of reform. The challenge now is how to move forward.
China¡¯s economy shows signs of a possible recovery despite structural challenges and imperfect GDP data, but its future growth and global impact hinge on trade relations with the U.S. and how economic progress is measured.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 10, 2025
Taking GDP out of the China equation
There are problems with looking at China¡¯s vitality through the GDP lens ¡ª the data is widely perceived to be finessed by officials
A family travels by motorbike in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam is grappling with two significant challenges: a declining birth rate, prompting policy shifts to encourage larger families, and the economic threat of U.S. tariffs.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 13, 2025
Vietnam has far bigger worries than its baby bust
Vietnam is grappling with two significant challenges: a declining birth rate, prompting policy shifts to encourage larger families and the economic threat of U.S. tariffs.
Despite doubts and talk of alternatives in Asia and beyond, the dollar remains dominant because there are no viable rivals and it continues to serve as the world¡¯s key safe asset.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2025
The problem with Asia's ¡®sell America¡¯ moment
The region¡¯s currencies are enjoying a healthy rally. History warns against anti-dollar triumphalism.
Amid trade war uncertainty, central bankers, including Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda, are leaning toward cautious policies, with some signaling potential rate cuts while awaiting the fallout from U.S. tariffs.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2025
Rate cuts anyone? Anyone? Ferris Bueller¡¯s tariff lesson
The collective sense of "we don't know¡± will give way to either hiking or easing. In Asia, the bias appears to favor the latter.
Donald Trump¡¯s punitive tariffs have dealt a blow to U.S. credibility and the greenback. It¡¯s a bigger leap to project the currency's demise.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2025
King dollar¡¯s reign looks secure ¡ª for now
The greenback survived Trump's first term at the pinnacle and will likely endure his second.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is reasserting military influence in politics, pushing fiscal policies that challenge long-standing restraints and accelerating democratic backsliding ¡ª moves that are causing economic instability and political unease.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2025
Prabowo tries to remake Indonesia, but at what cost?
The economic and political pillars that emerged after the turmoil of 1998 are?in peril. Markets are rightly apprehensive.?
Fertility rates remain low across much of Asia, with past policies to curb population growth proving difficult to reverse, while governments explore adaptation strategies like immigration and AI.
COMMENTARY
Mar 5, 2025
It¡¯s time we adapt to low fertility rates
South Korea¡¯s fertility rate saw a slight increase, but experts doubt it signals a long-term reversal. Similar trends are seen in Singapore and Japan.
Japan has effectively exited deflation, but Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba¡¯s reluctance to acknowledge it reflects outdated economic fears rather than current reality.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 13, 2025
It¡¯s time for Japan to admit victory over deflation
The last time prices declined was in July 2021, the same month the Tokyo Olympic Games took place.
Southeast Asian economies, once seen as beneficiaries of the U.S.-China trade war, now face challenges as escalating tariffs and trade tensions threaten their growth and regional stability.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2025
Winners of the first trade war may not be so victorious
Stuck between the U.S. and China, Southeast Asia¡¯s challenges this time around are much greater.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda attends a news conference after the central bank's policy meeting in Tokyo on Friday. The BOJ raised its rate by a quarter-point to 0.5% that day.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 26, 2025
Japan¡¯s central bank drops the drama and wins on rates
The quarter-point increase, which took the main rate to 0.5%, was probably the most telegraphed this century.
Instead of the Bank of Japan's actions strengthening the yen as once hoped, recent steps have only caused further weakening.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 22, 2025
Ueda¡¯s doctrine for the BOJ is finally emerging
Instead of the Bank of 91²Ö¿â actions strengthening the yen as once hoped, recent steps have only caused further weakening.
A giant 1000 Indonesian rupiah coin display inside the headquarters of Bank Indonesia in Jakarta
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2025
Indonesia is the latest country to risk a 'Japanification' tag
With markets sniffing out fiscal vulnerabilities in many countries, this would be an inopportune time to lose discipline.
The next 12 months will be more challenging, with some countries pursuing quick interest-rate cuts while others will proceed cautiously.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2024
A view to 2025: Enough with the central bank hawks and doves
Interest-rate cuts will be a feature, including at institutions that resisted easing in 2024. But mind the nuances.
South Korea¡¯s currency recovered while its stocks fell Wednesday as investors braced for prolonged political uncertainties following a brief decree of martial law by President?Yoon Suk Yeol.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2024
Capitalism is the unsung hero of South Korean democracy
Capitalism, with its economic pressures and global integration, has been crucial in fostering democracy in South Korea.
The United Nations once projected the world¡¯s population would peak at 10.3 billion in the 2080s, but now expects 700 million fewer inhabitants by 2100.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 4, 2024
Why falling fertility is not a crisis
The current population decline mirrors past transitions like the industrial revolution, where smaller families fueled economic growth and innovation.
Trump security strategy demands more from Japan while unveiling ¡®burden-sharing network¡¯
U.S. President Donald Trump makes a speech aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier during his visit to the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Oct. 28.
Spotlight shines on humanoid robots at Tokyo show
A representative from Noitom Robotics demonstraties remote robot operation at the iREX International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo on Friday.
Japan¡¯s bear-related casualties hit record on escalating attacks
Bear bells are displayed for sale at a souvenir shop at Shirakawa-go, a popular tourist spot and one of Japan's UNESCO World Heritage sites, in the village of Shirakawa, Gifu Prefecture, on Nov. 15.
Suspected ³Ù´Ç°ì³Ü°ù²â¨± masterminds in Tokyo-area robberies arrested
Takuya Saito, 26, is one of four men arrested by Japanese police on Friday on suspicion of masterminding a series of robberies in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
Average price of rice in Japan hits new record high
In the week ended last Sunday, the average price of rice sold at about 1,000 supermarkets across Japan rose by ?23 from the previous week to ?4,335 per 5 kilograms.
Will Takaichi bank on her high approval ratings to call a snap election?
While media polls show a high support rate for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s Cabinet, the support for the LDP is not as great, meaning there¡¯s no guarantee of a coattail effect if a snap poll is called.
¡®Black Box Diaries¡¯ is Shiori Ito¡¯s unflinching case for the truth
¡°Black Box Diaries¡± documents Shiori Ito¡¯s legal case, while also showing her thoughts and feelings through journal style videos she recorded herself.
Kashima or Kashiwa: J. League title chase goes down to the wire
Kashima's Yuma Suzuki (center) takes a shot during a game against Kashiwa in March.
2025 was the year Japan¡¯s box office returned
In 2025, ¡°Demon Slayer¡± and ¡°Kokuho¡± broke box-office records, while films such as ¡°Renoir,¡± A Pale View of the Hills¡± and ¡°Two Strangers, Two Seasons¡± garnered acclaim on the international film festival circuit. The year¡¯s biggest loss was the death of Tatsuya Nakadai, an highly regarded actor who had worked with nearly all of the top directors of Japanese cinema¡¯s postwar golden age.
The key points under discussion on policies affecting foreign nationals
Visitors head to Shirakawago, a popular tourist spot, in Gifu Prefecture in November.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Yumi Matsutoya began her decades-long career under her maiden name, Yumi Arai, but Japanese fans might know her better as ¡°Yuming.¡±
Yumi Matsutoya¡¯s human touch in an AI age
By Patrick St. Michel

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