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Category Archives: History
The Economist on Japan’s population “problem”
The Economist magazine likes to feel superior to anything it doesn’t understand. Luckily for its self-esteem, there is a lot in East Asia that has it stumped. An example is Japan’s population policy. In the course of a major article … Continue reading
Posted in History, Japan, Press
Tagged arable land, birthrate, demographics, economist magazine, population decline
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Chalmers Johnson: The passing of a true scholar
In a field known for fractiousness, Chalmers Johnson spoke with unique authority. Today we received the sad news that Chalmers Johnson, America’s greatest Japan scholar, has passed on. Although late in life he achieved considerable fame for his critique of … Continue reading
Posted in American decline, China, History, Japan, Trade
Tagged chalmers johnson, death, japan scholars, miti and the iapanese miracle, nemesis, niagara
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Evening in America
I have been reading two new books on trade (this review was first published in the December 2010 issue of the American Conservative). The Betrayal of American Prosperity: Free Market Delusions, America’s Decline, and How We Must Compete in the … Continue reading
Lessons from the Sublime Porte: How to lose an empire
Current U.S. trade policies were first tried by the Ottoman empire. As I show in this article — first published in the August 2010 issue of the American Conservative – America’s decline is proceeding even faster. Here’s an economic history … Continue reading
Posted in History, Trade
Tagged birdal, economies of scale, foreign debts, mercantilism, ottoman, pat choate, tariffs, trade, value added tax, vat
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Edwin Reischauer: An ambassador who lied TO his country
John Kennedy’s ambassador to Japan is the subject of a new biography. Unfortunately, as I point out in this review (which was first published in the June 2010 issue of the American Conservative), the author’s agenda has little to do with … Continue reading
Posted in Book reviews, History, Japan
Tagged cartel, detroit, galbraith, harvard, japan, mercantilism, packard, reischauer, renault, wanted: an asian policy
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Iris Chang: Elegy for a brave writer
Iris Chang was a Chinese-American author and historian who took her own life in 2004. As Paula Kamen recounts in a new biography, Chang had challenged the establishments of two of the world’s most powerful nations. [This review was first … Continue reading
Posted in Book reviews, China, History, Press, Sino-Japanese relations
Tagged advertising pressure, bataan, charles burress, clustering, counterpunch, ian buruma, iris chang, nanking, newsweek, paula kamen, Sino-Japanese relations, the wages of guilt, urbana-champaign, war compensation
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The Clark-Fingleton discussion
Below, set out in chronological order, is a series of three exchanges between Professor Gregory Clark and me concerning, among other things, the problems for foreign correspondents in reporting the truth from Japan. Clark, a Japan-based educator and columnist for … Continue reading
Posted in American decline, Global economy, History, Japan, Press, Sino-Japanese relations
Tagged catherine makino, chatham house, courtis, feldman, gillian tett, gregory clark, hallett abend, jesper koll, kinmont, koki hirota, malcolm kennedy, peter o'connor, Sino-Japanese relations, taid o'conroy, takeo tamiya, tasker, vidkun quisling
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The decline of the American empire: An expert witness’s account
Senator Ernest F. Hollings’s recently published autobiography, Making Government Work, is wise, well-written, and consistently absorbing. Rarely has Senator Fritz Hollings used his renowned wit to more devastating effect than when he was interviewed in 1990 on the ABC program, … Continue reading
Posted in American decline, Book reviews, Global economy, History
Tagged abc, bob kennedy, buckley v. valeo, ernest f. hollings, gramm, hairpiece, rudman, sam donaldson
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America’s creativity conceit
One of the biggest misconceptions in the American trade debate is the idea that America can count on superior creativity to stay ahead of the crowd. [Article as published in the American Conservative on November 21, 2007.] TOKYO. Almost everything the … Continue reading
Posted in American decline, China, Global economy, History, Japan, Manufacturing, Service economy
Tagged american creativity, assembled in china, big science, china sphere, collider, daniel griswold, designed by apple in california, edward miller, ipod, ivan p. hall, john snow, magnetic compass, mitsubishi zero, pat choate, u.s.-china economic and security review commission
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