America’s foreign military bases are bad business. (This article first appeared in the January 2011 issue of the American Conservative.) TOKYO. When German executives visit Tokyo, they are often treated to a session at Bernd’s Bar, a notably authentic German pub. … Continue reading →
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 →
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 →
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 →
Expert observers Holstein, Fallows, and Baker express their dismay at the Times’s miscues. I am not alone in challenging the New York Times’s recent account of a “disheartened” Japan. William J. Holstein, former president of the Overseas Press Club of America … Continue reading →
The Times says Japan is “disheartened.” It hasn’t looked at Japan’s trade figures — or America’s. The New York Times yesterday carried a major article headlined “Japan Goes from Dynamic to Disheartened.” Rarely has the truth of the Japanese economy … Continue reading →
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 →
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 →
This is a longer version of an article I have just published in the journal of the Overseas Press Club of America. Former Tokyo correspondents held a reunion at the Overseas Press Club in New York in March at which … Continue reading →