Heizo Takenaka was Economy Minister (2001-05), Minister of Financial Reform (2002-05), and Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications (2005-06) in Japan under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. He is currently Director of the Global Security Research Institute at Keio University in Tokyo.
The scale of the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March was far greater than even the authorities’ worst nightmare scenarios foresaw. But Japan's crisis is also a rare opportunity to undert… read more
As the world begins to grapple with the creation of a new economic order, the moderating role of a third party in conflicts between the US and China will be extremely important. It is a role that will… read more
China has now officially supplanted Japan as the world’s second largest economy. The question for Japan is whether or not the country will continue to tumble down the list of the world’s great economi… read more
In today’s Asia, there are two economic powers of global standing, Japan and China. But the balance of economic power between the two is changing, and fast: sometime this year, China’s GDP will exceed… read more
Japan’s debt-to-GDP ratio is around 170% – much higher than in Greece, where the figure stands at around 110%. But, despite the grim parallel, Japan’s government does not seem to think that it needs t… read more
