Japan, Japan, Wherefore Art Thou?

Hi everyone. Just to say that I have been a bit erratic recently since I have had a lot of work on my plate, and a lot of concentration to be doing. I hope sometime soon I will have some results from this to show here.Meanwhile the Japanese economy has been far from idle. Japans labour market continues to tighten:The closely watched jobs-to-applicants ratio rose to 1.00 in December - meaning

Tokyo Stock Exchange Temporarily Closed

Gosh, I certainly hope this isn't anything too serious:Japanese stocks plunged on Wednesday after the Tokyo Stock Exchange announced that it would suspend trading of all stocks because volumes were too high. The news panicked investors, who had already sent the Nikkei down heavily in the wake of Monday evening’s government raid on Livedoor, the internet services company, over possible violation

Japan: The Third Way?

As its population ages, Japan should carve out a middle way between the social security systems of Scandinavia and that of the US, this at least is the opinion of finance minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, one of several contenders to replace Junichiro Koizumi as prime minister.At the moment, benefits and tax payments were out of kilter ..“Japanese people are enjoying excessive benefits with a low [tax