Gearoid Reidy

Musk Must Preserve Twitter’s Most Vital Function

For all the controversy surrounding his purchase of Twitter Inc., Elon Musk has at least one thing right: Twitter really is “like open-sourcing the news.” The world’s richest man has long been an advocate for “citizen journalism,” but since his takeover of the social media site he’s been…

Tourists Will Love the Yen. Will Japan Love Them Back?

Japan looks like it may finally open its borders and end its splendid isolation. The key question is: Can it learn to love foreign tourists again? After a series of head fake border re-openings this year which promised more than they delivered, a report Monday that Japan would scrap most…

A Japanese Philosophy for the Quiet-Quitting Generation

The world of management is abuzz about the idea of “quiet quitting” — the Gen Z, TikTok-boosted term for doing nothing more at work than the job description demands. Of course, there’s nothing new about this phenomenon — if Gen Z knew how to dial a call, they would understand the age-old…

The Race for Missiles in Asia’s Danger Zone

It’s no surprise that for US allies in Asia, “Top Gun: Maverick” is the year’s most-watched American movie, topping the box office in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. The simple tale of US might and gumption against an evil faceless opponent certainly resonates in a region that’s facing intensifying…

Japanese Isn’t a Good Look in China Anymore

It’s a bad time to be a Japanese brand in China. Even a fake one. Miniso Group Holding Ltd., a Chinese retailer of cheap household goods with around 3,000 stores in the mainland, made it big off an aesthetic that could charitably be described as an homage to modern Japanese branding. While…

What the World Got Wrong About Shinzo Abe

Japan’s former leader, Shinzo Abe, was always a polarizing figure. But the fissures that emerged during his return to power in 2012 were largely brushed aside as the world united in grief over his murder. At the time, a Japan specialist at the Obama-era state department said that one would need…

Shinzo Abe's Assassination Will Scar Japan Forever

Japan has been brought to a standstill by the news that former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe died after being shot on the campaign trail for Sunday’s upper house elections. A lone gunman attacked Abe, who was pronounced dead at a hospital in Nara from wounds in his chest and neck. This is a tragedy…

There Is No ‘Back to Normal’ After Covid

Japanese virologist Hitoshi Oshitani has an impressive record fighting pandemics. As one of the leading experts advising the government during Covid, he helped formulate a strategy that has kept deaths in the country with the world’s oldest population lower than any other developed nation, without…