Social networking services (FB, Twitter, etc) are disciplining the web. Vendors increasingly have a captive audience. But with advertising becoming commoditized, intelligent and proactive PR becomes more important. The Delphi Network has hosted a couple of events recently on social media and data. The impression we got was that SNS are becoming more like…
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How is Japanese youth faring in modern Japan? Youth is an especially precious resource in an ageing country, and the outlook for young people is therefore of particular interest. One useful metric to examine is suicide. Here we find that although the Japanese government’s anti-suicide policies have been remarkably successful in recent years for most age-groups…
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Walter White, the chemistry teacher turned drug dealer in Breaking Bad, is the symbol of a new, harsher world for middle-aged men. In season 1, Walter is making a paltry 43,000 dollars per year as a chemistry teacher in a state school in the gloriously beautiful state of New Mexico. Being a teacher used to be a job honoured beyond the act of imparting a curriculum…
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Japan’s bureaucrats and politicians have produced a unique combination of low spending and world-leading social outcomes. In the 19th century, it was accepted that the role of the state should be tiny. Its role was based on its monopoly of violence. Internal policing and external defence were the great functions. Everything else (schooling, health, social security, business activity…
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End of an era as Japan’s northernmost prefecture is sold to reduce government debt; China to build hazardous chemical factories. In a shock move reminiscent of Napoleon’s sale of Louisiana to the Americans in 1803, the Hokkaido government has announced…
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Who should read it: Most likely Japanologists, foreign journalists, diplomats, senior business people already living in Japan for a few years and who want to gain a deeper understanding, not to mention shine at dinner parties. What is the buzz about the book? Hard-hitting criticism of malign US influence, manipulating Japan behind the scenes. Eg the reactionary LDP…
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