Shimizu Yuichiro, Professor, Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University On July 8, I was in Nagano City in Nagano Prefecture on a research business trip when I heard reports about the assassination of the former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. I had seen a notice on a poster for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) candidates on a noticeboard for the Upper House election. The notice said, “16:55 Nagano Station Speaker Former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.” I noted the date in my diary to take the opportunity to hear him. However, the speech in Nagano was canceled and Abe went to support another candidate at Nara City where the incident took place. As if to muffle the indescribable feelings, something that happened 101 years ago came to mind. On November 4, 1921, Prime Minister Hara Takahashi (1856–1921), the “Commoner Prime Minister,” was stabbed to death ... ... [Read more]

  KOBAYASHI Keiichiro, Program Director and Faculty Fellow, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI) Global Inflation and Inflation in Japan The current global inflation apparently has aspects of both “cost-push inflation,” which is attributable to supply-side factors such as the worldwide supply chain disruptions due to the COVID-19 crisis and constraints on resources and energy due to the Ukraine situation, and an “inflation spiral,” in which a wage upsurge caused by a labor shortage and general price increases mutually amplify each other. If such a self-perpetuating inflation spiral accelerates, eventually, the kind of hyperinflation that frequently strikes developing countries could be triggered due to the loss of public confidence in currencies. Therefore, governments around the world are trying to hold down the ongoing inflation by slowing down economic activity through rapid monetary tightening. The situation in Japan is not an inflation spiral ... ... [Read more]

  Mukunoki Hiroshi, Professor, Gakushuin University   Key points Doubts over the effectiveness of any rules or agreement reached under the IPEF Expectations for the IPEF as a bridge connecting different cooperation frameworks Opportunity for discussion of export restrictions, which existing trade agreements leave untouched   With the global economy facing a myriad of risks and with the emphasis being put on economic security, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) is attracting attention as a new opportunity for international economic cooperation among nations. The IPEF was proposed by President Biden in May. It is a mechanism to build international cooperation, focusing on four pillars: trade; supply chains; clean energy, decarbonization and infrastructure; tax and anti-corruption. Fourteen countries, including Japan, South Korea, India, as well as countries from Southeast Asia and Oceania, have agreed to join (see Table). Whilst the United States has seen its presence in the international ... ... [Read more]

  Takashina Shuji, Director of the Ohara Museum of Art and President of the Western Art Foundation From late January to March 2022, a special exhibition titled “Celebrating the Enthronement Ceremonies of His Majesty the Emperor”: The Reproduction of Shosoin Treasures—Encountering Tenpyo Craftsmanship through the Recreation of 8th Century Works” was held at the Suntory Museum of Art in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo. The exhibition literature includes a rather unfamiliar phrase that translates as “Reproduction-imitation.” What on earth does this term mean? The Shosoin[1] Treasures include items linked to Emperor Shomu, as well as related documents and craft objects of value. The Shosoin treasure house was built as a store for these treasures. The management and storage of the treasures was strict, requiring imperial sanction before items could leave the store, and this imperial seal system continues today. In hot and humid Japan, “airing out” ... ... [Read more]

  Yoda Toru, Chief, Curators Division, Toyama Memorial Museum Bonsai is a culture in which a potted plant is cultivated to remain small, requiring a lot of time and effort to shape. At minimum, bonsai needs care, such as watering, every day, and it also needs pruning, wiring, and sometimes removing bark with a tool. It is a process of creating a living landscape with a small tree in a shallow pot. Therefore, bonsai can be considered a garden. With limited living space in urban areas, we sometimes see people enjoying and treating bonsai as their garden in places such as the balcony of an apartment. A style called bonsan preceded bonsai in the Kamakura period (1185–1333). It was a kind of miniature garden composed of trees and stones that let people enjoy the view and experience the garden as if they were on the same ... ... [Read more]

  Shiratori Junichiro, Associate Professor, The Open University of Japan   One of the characteristics of international politics in the 21st century is that the global interdependence of heterogenous states is becoming normalized. With the US-China conflict and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there are indications of globalization coming to an end, but even if globalization were to stagnate, we still have to consider the current situation of this global interdependence of heterogenous states. EU countries and Japan are dependent on imported energy resources, and superpower Russia’s needs to export its natural resources to cover its war expenditures is a structural situation. Moreover, unlike oil, for which the global market is fairly organized, it is not easy to find new places for importing natural gas. Because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, chaos in the energy markets is likely to persist for years. This ... ... [Read more]

  How can we revive the post-WWII international order that has been damaged by Putin’s war? I believe now is the time to envision a new postwar order. The proactiveness and creativity of Japanese diplomacy will be tested as we head toward the construction of a security framework that links NATO and the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) as well as a platform for highly effective disarmament and arms control.   Iwama Yoko, Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS)   The world is always full of injustice and destruction, so simply perpetrating unlawful violence is not in itself enough to destroy the social order. Unless the act presents a fundamental challenge to the institutions that maintain the order, the basic order is maintained regardless of the amount of violence. Putin’s war has been going on for quite some time now, but why ... ... [Read more]