It’s Wednesday and as usual I cover a few topics briefly rather than provide a deeper analysis of a single issue. Today, I consider yesterday’s RBA monetary policy decision which held interest rates at elevated levels despite the inflation rate dropping towards the lower range of its targetting band. The RBA has lost credibility and…
Japan
My colleagues and I at Kyoto University met the night before I flew back to Australia this year to discuss the on-going research collaboration, which will define part of my work over the next few years. I hope we can announce a major event in Kyoto or Tokyo in October or November 2025 to disseminate…
This Tuesday report will provide some insights into life for a westerner (me) who is working for an extended period at Kyoto University in Japan. This is my final report for 2024 as my working time at the university is completed for another year and we will resume these reports in 2025 when I return.…
This Tuesday report will provide some insights into life for a westerner (me) who is working for an extended period at Kyoto University in Japan. Nara I took last Friday off as a holiday and we took the train to Nara which is about an hour away from Kyoto. The motivation was to do the…
This Tuesday report will provide some insights into life for a westerner (me) who is working for an extended period at Kyoto University in Japan. 秋まつり – Sunday, November 3, 2024 The ‘event’ highlight of the week just gone was the – Aki Matsuri – or 秋まつり (Autumn Festival) last Sunday at the Buddhist –…
This Tuesday report will provide some insights into life for a westerner (me) who is working for an extended period at Kyoto University in Japan. Stick man Every night around 21:10 I hear the sounds of sticks or wooden blocks being hit together like a percussionist might do. A fairly old man walks the streets…
This Tuesday report will provide some insights into life for a westerner (me) who is working for an extended period at Kyoto University in Japan. Tourism blight I rarely go down into the tourist areas of Kyoto, that is the most popular areas around Gion and the Yasaka Shrine. I live in North Kyoto and…
The – Japanese National Institute of Population and Social Security Research – is the go-to place for understanding demographic trends in Japan. The latest revisions to the population estimates (as at 2023) show that the current population of 125.5 million will shrink to 96 odd million by 2060 and then 87 million a decade later.…
This Tuesday report will provide some insights into life for a westerner (me) who is working for an extended period at Kyoto University in Japan. Life is settling down here again – it always takes a week or so to put my Japanese shoes on so to speak and get used to the different sounds…
This Tuesday report will provide some insights into life for a westerner (me) who is working for an extended period at Kyoto University in Japan. Well I am back in Kyoto for an extended period and it is unseasonably hot and humid for October. It seems that the warm weather will endure throughout October at…