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Japan Today
a day ago
- Business
- Japan Today
Are there any skilled workers in the United States who are willing to do the job for a monthly pay of $400? The idea of making iPhones in the United States is an illusion.
Yuqing Xing, professor of international economy at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, saying it is not viable to shift iPhone production to the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump is vigorously seeking to restore America's manufacturing might by imposing unprecedented steep tariffs on imports from nations around the world. He cited Apple's iPhone, which is composed of countless parts and components made across the globe, as an example. © Asahi Shimbun
Time of India
21-04-2025
- General
- Time of India
Of the commons and their undoing
Dinesh Antil is in the Indian Revenue Service. He studied medicine at Delhi University and later got a master's degree in public finance from National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo, which he attended on a World Bank scholarship. In his time away from gazing through the taxman's lens, he enjoys painting and running. LESS ... MORE 'That which is common to the greatest number gets the least amount of care. Men pay most attention to what is their own; they care less for what is common,' wrote Aristotle, describing the tragedy of the commons. Centuries later, Garrett Hardin would shape the term in his 1968 essay with the image of a lush meadow, overrun by sheep and the ambition of herdsmen. 'Therein is the tragedy. Each man is locked into a system that compels him to increase his herd without limit—in a world that is limited,' Hardin reasoned. It was a Saturday evening, and we had gathered to dust the week off our shoulders. Somebody said, 'So I took an Azithro and now feel better.' This was promptly met with a lecture from the doctor, who—between sips of his drink—rued the reckless use of antibiotics in India. 'Superbugs send their thanks to your kind,' he said dryly. 'Pray accept.' From there, the conversation began to unspool into other commons and their undoing, like how each of us had driven to the venue alone, putting comfort first, while dipping into the city's stock of clean air and finite road space. Someone mentioned the ten-member committees at work—the sort where three people labour, two talk, and the rest bathe passively in the soft mist of collectivism. It's not just people—nations do it too. Rich countries, with their heavy carbon footprints past and present, still shy away from putting up real money for climate action in places that didn't cause the damage—and where most of the world lives. The conversations stretched well into the night, meandering from one thought to another until words began to feel heavy with sleep. And then, one by one, everyone left. I readied myself for bed. There was a deep hush all around, save for the occasional rustle of leaves stirred by the breeze. I felt thankful for the calm and peace the silence brought. My mind still lingered on the evening's talk of commons and their tragedies, and I found myself thinking how rare such moments of quiet had become in the daytime bustle of city life. Silence is a fragile, finite resource—whose depletion by one reduces it for all. A honk, a loud phone call on a train, a jarring ringtone in the stillness of an art gallery, or a booming late-night party—each of these chips away at our shared pool of silence. And unlike some commons that can grow with technology or innovation, silence cannot be scaled and has no substitutes. Countries and societies differ widely in how they treat this commons—from a serious recognition of its communal nature to barely any expectation that silence is something to be shared. Of course, not all sound is noise, nor is all noise intrusive. The notes of a violinist on the sidewalk, the strum of an ektara on a city bus, or a necessary public announcement do not deplete the public quiet. As with all commons, the tragedy is born not of the commons themselves, but of their mismanagement. But few things come more naturally to humans than managing the commons. It is the ability to find ways to balance individual interest with the common good that has shaped societies, built nations, and underpins international order and exchange. The story of civilisation is, in many ways, the story of shared stewardship of the commons. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
South China Morning Post
05-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Trump could end up making Asia, not America, great again
Could Donald Trump's 'Make America Great Again' policies end up instead making Asia – East Asia especially – greater than ever? Things appear to be moving in that direction as the US president's alienating trade and tariff policies create an incentive for East Asia and Europe to move into each other's arms. Advertisement Such a marriage, increasingly speculated upon, within the framework of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership ( CPTPP ) could create one of the world's largest, most economically dynamic free-trade areas, offsetting much of the impact of US isolationism. The prospect of a Europe-Asia economic alliance is one card both regions could play if Trump's tariff tactics are perceived, particularly in Beijing and Brussels , as becoming too aggressive – although there is a counterargument that the US presence in Asia is so entrenched as to negate such threats. In the view of Yuqing Xing, an economics professor at Tokyo's National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, the 'revolutionary changes' brought about by the Trump administration have created a favourable environment for China's application to join the CPTPP. There is debate, meanwhile, within the European Union over whether it should also join the trade pact. 'It is possible that the CPTPP will serve as a new framework of global trade in the age of globalisation,' Xing said during a recent debate at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (FCCJ) in Tokyo. Advertisement
South China Morning Post
29-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
The sun is setting on the US dollar, but what could replace it?
'How low can the dollar go?' queried the headline of a recent Financial Times article in which Barry Eichengreen, a professor of economics and political science at the University of California, Berkeley, noted that the dollar – 'the sun around which the other elements of the post-war international system revolved' – could be entering a period of fundamental decline. Advertisement This certainly seems to reflect the decline of Western powers in global economic importance. It is less certain whether the decline can be arrested. At a time when bold policy is needed, there has been talk around Washington of the Trump administration considering a new international monetary agreement, decades after the Plaza Accord was reached at New York's Plaza Hotel in 1985 to depreciate the dollar and reduce the United States' trade deficits with Germany, Japan and other economies. Only this time it would be a Mar-a-Lago Accord , named after US President Donald Trump's residence in Florida. This might seem a good idea were it not for the fact that while Trump wants a weaker dollar to ensure US export competitiveness, he also wants the dollar to remain the world's premier reserve currency. In the eyes of experts such as Yuqing Xing, professor of economics at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, a Mar-a-Lago Accord is not even feasible. Advertisement As he noted during a recent seminar at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (FCCJ), given that China and Japan hold more than US$1 trillion in US dollar bonds between them, the idea that they would actively agree to devaluate the dollar and their own holdings is naive. Such a plan would 'definitely damage the reputation of the dollar as an international currency', Xing suggested.
New York Times
06-02-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Japan Seeks to Preserve Status Quo With Trump. That May Be a Big Ask.
As Japan's prime minister prepares for his first meeting with President Trump, he is hoping to make a personal connection with the leader of the superpower on which his country depends both economically and militarily. But in the unpredictable Trump White House, even a simple meet-and-greet might be a risky gamble. The summit between Mr. Trump and Japan's prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, which is scheduled for Friday, is the result of months of behind-the-scenes efforts by a wide range of Japanese: not just diplomats and lawmakers, but also one of the country's richest investors and the widow of an assassinated former prime minister. When he arrives at the White House, Mr. Ishiba will most likely seek reassurances that Mr. Trump won't target Japan in a trade war or abandon America's post-1945 security guarantees at a time when his nation faces a muscular China and a nuclear-armed North Korea. In exchange, the Japanese prime minister is expected to come with concessions that could include promises to buy more American weapons or energy, invest in U.S.-based artificial intelligence and share more of the defense burden in the Asia-Pacific region. 'This summit will be the moment of truth,' said Narushige Michishita, a professor of security affairs at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo. 'Does Mr. Trump view Japan as an indispensable partner in the Asia-Pacific, or are we just another counterpart across the bargaining table?' So far, Japan's name hasn't come up when Mr. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on many other major U.S. allies and trading partners. The two leaders seemed to get off to a good start when Mr. Ishiba called Mr. Trump in November to congratulate him on his election victory. 'It was my first time speaking to him, but he seemed friendly,' Mr. Ishiba told reporters. 'I got the impression that he was someone I could speak honestly with.' However, former diplomats say that asking the mercurial U.S. president to observe the status quo will be a tall order. These are still the early days in the administration of a transactional president who is eager to show results to his supporters. 'Ishiba is taking a risk,' said Glen Fukushima, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress who was a U.S. trade diplomat. 'The more time he spends with Trump, the more chance that Trump will make new demands.' Then there's the possibility of what some analysts now call a 'Gaza surprise,' a reference to the summit this week between Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, when the U.S. president blindsided the world by proposing a takeover of Palestinian territory. Ahead of the Japanese-U.S. summit, Mr. Ishiba has prepared by gathering an informal 'Trump strategy council' of top officials from across his government, who gamed out the possible demands that the president might make and how Japan should respond, according to Japanese news media. Mr. Ishiba has also tried to learn from one of his predecessors, Shinzo Abe, a long-serving prime minister who was shot and killed in 2022 after leaving office. Mr. Abe used face-to-face meetings to build rapport with Mr. Trump during the first Trump administration. One of Mr. Abe's strategies was to come bearing gifts. When he became the first world leader to meet with the newly elected Mr. Trump in 2016 in Trump Tower, Mr. Abe presented his host with a gold-plated golf club. At a summit three years later, Mr. Abe brought a bigger present: a promise to buy 105 American F-35 fighter planes worth billions of dollars. Mr. Abe's personal diplomacy helped avert a trade war during the first Trump administration, signing a limited deal with Washington after Mr. Trump pulled the United States out of a broader Pacific trade pact. On Monday, Mr. Ishiba said he planned to talk with Mr. Trump about joint development of artificial intelligence. He made the comments after meeting with Sam Altman of OpenAI and Masayoshi Son, a Japanese tech investor who in December stood next to Mr. Trump to pledge $100 billion in investments to create 100,000 jobs in the United States. Mr. Ishiba is also expected to emphasize major increases in security spending, which could lead to additional purchases of U.S.-made weapons. Japan plans to expand the size of its defense budget by 65 percent in the five years ending in 2027. Still, Mr. Ishiba's efforts to follow Mr. Abe's playbook have not always gone well. After Mr. Trump's re-election last year, Mr. Ishiba tried to meet him, only to be turned down on the grounds that the president-elect wasn't meeting world leaders right away. Japan turned to Mr. Abe's widow, Akie Abe, who attended Mr. Trump's inauguration ceremony as a guest of the first lady, Melania Trump. Mr. Trump referred to his personal tie with the deceased Mr. Abe when mentioning the coming summit with Mr. Ishiba. 'Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was a very close friend of mine,' Mr. Trump told reporters last Friday. 'What happened to him was very sad, one of the saddest things that ever happened, but they're coming to talk to me, so I'm looking forward to it.' There have been concerns that Mr. Ishiba won't be able to replicate Mr. Abe's personal chemistry with Mr. Trump. While Mr. Abe was an avid golfer who played with Mr. Trump at a club in Japan, Mr. Ishiba favors interests like building plastic models.
