Japan has an ‘enshortification’ problem

An ageing workforce is affecting all sorts of professions

09.10.2025 3

Leo Lewis

What superstition tells us about humanity

Japan’s demographic plunge suggests our embrace of the unscientific hasn’t gone away

25.09.2025 1

Leo Lewis

Japan confronts the increased price of US friendship

The Japanese government cannot spin its one-sided $550bn investment commitment to Trump’s America as a win

12.09.2025 20

Leo Lewis

The bullish signs from Japan’s bear panic

Even as it faces national dotage, the country remains a formidable industrial power

28.08.2025 7

Leo Lewis

Japan’s pacifist self-image is under attack from realpolitik

At a Tokyo defence show, the shocking reality of preparing for possible future wars was unmissable

14.08.2025 8

Leo Lewis

A weak yen is the root of Japan’s lurch to the right

Populism has caught up with the country and found fertile soil

18.07.2025 10

Leo Lewis

Japan’s great unsticking has begun

The end of the zero-interest era is unleashing competition in the banking sector and changes in saver and investor behaviour

03.07.2025 5

Leo Lewis

Trump, Japan and the era of ‘stick-holder capitalism’

Nippon Steel’s $15bn deal for US Steel reflects a version of capitalism that does not fully serve the interests of shareholders

19.06.2025 9

Leo Lewis

The all-seeing pen that feeds our need for motivation

We are obsessed with self-quantification in everything from running to handwriting, but Kokuyo’s gadget goes beyond that

05.06.2025 5

Leo Lewis

Japanese leaders need to give up their rice obsession

Many more people in the country owe their livelihoods to the car industry than to farming

22.05.2025 9

Leo Lewis

The ants, the grasshopper and Japan’s future

Trump’s trade crisis will answer whether the country’s corporates have saved or danced all summer

08.05.2025 10

Leo Lewis

Is this still the Asian century?

The theory is that hegemonies run in cycles, but Trump and a trade war may disrupt the pattern

24.04.2025 6

Leo Lewis

How to celebrate the world as it falls apart

The Osaka Expo 2025 is a masterclass in smiling through tariff calamity

10.04.2025 4

Leo Lewis

Japan’s apex survival instinct is put to the test

The erosion of the post-1945 world order has rattled the country

27.03.2025 10

Leo Lewis

What Japan can teach the US in an age of boycotts

The country wanted to do everything itself and largely still does

13.03.2025 10

Leo Lewis

Steak mousse and a vibrating sofa: Japan shows the way for baby boomers

The practical impact of mass ageing has suddenly become more dramatic and potent

27.02.2025 10

Leo Lewis

Shareholder capitalism, the Japanese way

An obsession with the UN’s SDGs allows companies to create a smokescreen

13.02.2025 5

Leo Lewis

DeepSeek hints that China has mastered the art of ‘kaizen’ — the west should be worried

The Japanese concept of continuous industrial improvement helps to explain Beijing’s technological success

30.01.2025 40

Leo Lewis

An anti-Japan tirade takes the US back in time

Attack by Cleveland CEO is symptomatic of an abrasive environment building as Trump inauguration nears

16.01.2025 10

Leo Lewis

Why it’s hard to be a friend of America

Nippon Steel’s bid for US Steel shows the flaws in the ‘friendshoring’ approach

02.01.2025 5

Leo Lewis

Corporate Japan is steeling itself for hostile interest

The volume of shareholder activism and dealmaking by private equity has mushroomed

19.12.2024 20

Leo Lewis

South Korea’s tumult is a symptom of China-US strife

As the globalisation-friendly world order fades, its new geoeconomic course is fraught with risk

04.12.2024 20

Leo Lewis

Japan urgently needs to plug its CFO deficit

Investors expect to deal with people fluent in shareholder-focused language

21.11.2024 10

Leo Lewis

Japan is having a moment but will it survive Trump?

Some believe the country’s economy could benefit from the result of the US election

08.11.2024 3

Leo Lewis

How anime took over the world

The global footprint of the animated sub-genre is growing inexorably

10.10.2024 4

Leo Lewis

Why eight Tokyo minutes from office to metro is too long

The city is seeing a boom in commercial construction but labour scarcity has made location a critical concern for companies

26.09.2024 5

Leo Lewis

Japan has learnt a hard lesson about US friendship

The Nippon Steel experience has broader ramifications for dealmaking

12.09.2024 20

Leo Lewis

Japan must slay its start-up zombies

The country needs to confront what it actually means to have a working capitalist metabolism

29.08.2024 4

Leo Lewis

After 7-Eleven, Japan’s M&A scene may never be the same again

Lawyers, bankers and PE fund supremos say the stage is set for a wave of smaller-scale, exploratory unsolicited takeovers

22.08.2024 9

Leo Lewis

Never a zealot, Fumio Kishida showed a surprising fearlessness

The outgoing prime minister steered Japan through its most life-altering three-year period since the 1980s bubble

14.08.2024 8

Leo Lewis

The great sell-off and why the Japanese market trades like a penny stock

Investors have to understand that ‘normalisation’ after the ‘lost’ decades is going to be painful

08.08.2024 10

Leo Lewis

Why global investors find it so easy to sell Japan

Speed and ferocity of Tokyo market correction is eye-catching

05.08.2024 3

Leo Lewis

The yen is everything to Japan’s economy

Tacit acknowledgment of this by the country’s central bank signals a shift to more honest thinking

01.08.2024 4

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Japan has an ‘enshortification’ problem

Leo Lewis

What superstition tells us about humanity

Leo Lewis

Japan confronts the increased price of US friendship

Leo Lewis

The bullish signs from Japan’s bear panic

Leo Lewis

Japan’s pacifist self-image is under attack from realpolitik

Leo Lewis

A weak yen is the root of Japan’s lurch to the right

Leo Lewis

Japan’s great unsticking has begun

Leo Lewis

Trump, Japan and the era of ‘stick-holder capitalism’

Leo Lewis

The all-seeing pen that feeds our need for motivation

Leo Lewis

Japanese leaders need to give up their rice obsession

Leo Lewis

The ants, the grasshopper and Japan’s future

Leo Lewis

Is this still the Asian century?

Leo Lewis

How to celebrate the world as it falls apart

Leo Lewis

Japan’s apex survival instinct is put to the test

Leo Lewis

What Japan can teach the US in an age of boycotts

Leo Lewis

Steak mousse and a vibrating sofa: Japan shows the way for baby boomers

Leo Lewis

Shareholder capitalism, the Japanese way

Leo Lewis

DeepSeek hints that China has mastered the art of ‘kaizen’ — the west should be worried

Leo Lewis

An anti-Japan tirade takes the US back in time

Leo Lewis

Why it’s hard to be a friend of America

Leo Lewis

Corporate Japan is steeling itself for hostile interest

Leo Lewis

South Korea’s tumult is a symptom of China-US strife

Leo Lewis

Japan urgently needs to plug its CFO deficit

Leo Lewis

Japan is having a moment but will it survive Trump?

Leo Lewis

How anime took over the world

Leo Lewis

Why eight Tokyo minutes from office to metro is too long

Leo Lewis

Japan has learnt a hard lesson about US friendship

Leo Lewis

Japan must slay its start-up zombies

Leo Lewis

After 7-Eleven, Japan’s M&A scene may never be the same again

Leo Lewis

Never a zealot, Fumio Kishida showed a surprising fearlessness

Leo Lewis

The great sell-off and why the Japanese market trades like a penny stock

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Why global investors find it so easy to sell Japan

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The yen is everything to Japan’s economy

Leo Lewis