Very Kind Of Them #58 and #59

The Economist this week examines the unnecessary pressure being put on Japan's new media to conform to Abe government-approved ways of thinking or to avoid examining the government's actions at all. A generous author includes a minor observation of mine. (Link)

Meanwhile, as a part of an ongoing series of conversations regarding the burning issues confronting Japan, Timothy Langley, Nancy Snow and I have a long conversation on rural depopulation, taking a big, necessary detour through the socio-economic roles of women.

Mr. Langley misspeaks at the outset as regards the ageing of Japanese society: only 1/4 of Japanese are above 65 years of age and 1/8 are above 75 years of age. Mr. Langley's percentages are for rural communities or for the so-called New Towns, the satellites cities built on farm and forest land in the 1960s. In the villages, with very few exceptions, and in the danchi, the giant public housing projects in the New Towns, the proportions of senior citizens is at 40% and on the way to 50%.

Very Kind Of Them: Tokyo On Fire, Episode 10 - Nuclear Power in Japan

Nancy Snow was away two weeks ago, leaving Timothy Langley and me to carrying out a males-only exchange of views on Japan's nuclear reactor restarts, power plant siting issues, the Fukui injunction against the restart of the Takahama reactors, the US-Japan security relationship, the April local elections and the landing of a drone on the roof of the Prime Minister's Residence.

Coming Up For Air - A Brief Discussion Of The Ontology Of Abe's Womenomics

Shisaku is still on hiatus. However, I just had a conversation with Professor Noah Smith of Stonybrook on Twitter which is not entirely without interest. I nearly bring the exchage to a halt at one point with what is in retrospect is only a mildly amusing jest. To his immense credit, Professor Smith ignores my feeble attempt at humor and furthers the investigation.

Here's an even better chart of smoothed female & male working-age labor force participation in Japan and the U.S. pic.twitter.com/By3Z5JDkXS

— Noah Smith (@Noahpinion) May 3, 2015

@MichaelTCucek A disproportionate share of fire-able workers are women.

— Noah Smith (@Noahpinion) May 3, 2015

@MichaelTCucek But if there has been a trend break, then Womenomics is winning big.

— Noah Smith (@Noahpinion) May 3, 2015

@MichaelTCucek That has happened in the U.S.

— Noah Smith (@Noahpinion) May 3, 2015

@Noahpinion Yes but that would have implied transition out of trend that survived 2008 GFC without hiccup.

— Michael Thomas Cucek (@MichaelTCucek) May 3, 2015

@Noahpinion Agreed. When they hit 99% they tend to flatline. ; - )

— Michael Thomas Cucek (@MichaelTCucek) May 3, 2015

@MichaelTCucek I think Womenomics is only one piece of the wider overhaul of the Japanese corporation.

— Noah Smith (@Noahpinion) May 3, 2015

@Noahpinion Yes, and as forever in the history of this blessed land, the "if" is always preceded by a sigh.

— Michael Thomas Cucek (@MichaelTCucek) May 3, 2015

@Noahpinion Agree again. However, we must still try to disambiguate demographic shifts, policy changes pre-Abe and policy changes post-Abe.

— Michael Thomas Cucek (@MichaelTCucek) May 3, 2015

@Noahpinion Which would leave for Abe and Company the credit -- and it is no mean achievement -- for at least not messing up a recovery.

— Michael Thomas Cucek (@MichaelTCucek) May 3, 2015