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William Pesek on Japan in 2007

January 9, 2007
By Ken Worsley


William Pesek is a longtime Japan observer who often appeals to those who don’t believe the hype, if you’ll pardon my English. In a recent piece at the International Herald Tribune, he questioned the fundamentals behind Japan’s current economic recovery and bets that Japan’s economy, “will shift into a lower gear, disappointing investors once again.”

Pesek goes on to say that, “it may not have occurred to many outside Tokyo yet, but (Prime Minister Shinzo) Abe is in trouble.” I may live close enough to throw rocks at the Tawagawa, but I’m still in Tokyo, and could still hit Nagatacho with a few of those same rocks, Mr Pesek. Trust me, we’ve been taking notice for some time now. Mr Abe is pretty much through and we’re taking office pools on who’s next (Aso? Shiozaki? Tanigaki comes back - or, (gasp) back to Koizumi? My man Takenaka won’t be it, that much is assured.)

Mr Pesek, an otherwise rational man, goes on to say, “The forces of globalization are seeing to it that Japan needs to change to increase growth, not the other way around,” without offering any empirical statistics or clear reasoning behind this view. Some (myself included) may agree with the sentiment, but let’s have some evidence, even if it’s anecdotal. If you think Japan’s leaders are in defensive mode, call a spade a spade.

Filed Under Business, Economics, Inflation 

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Comments

One Response to “William Pesek on Japan in 2007”

  1. Garrett on January 9th, 2007 7:36 pm

    Just to perhaps stick up a bit for Mr. Pesek and to indirectly request a bit of clarification, do you think Abe’s struggles are widely known or are such views still the province of political observers?

    That there spade is a spade. And my prediction of a Shiozaki kantei is starting to look silly, but I’m sticking with the guy for now.

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