Lessons for the U.S. from Japan's Lost Decade
Facing an economic downturn in the 1990s, Japan racked up debt. America should not repeat that mistake.
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Biden and Trump Are Both Disastrously Wrong About Tariffs
Yes, cheap imports hurt some American companies. But protectionist trade policy harms many more Americans than it helps.
Review: An Anime Reboot About Japan's Transition From Feudalism
The protagonist's adversaries eventually embrace modernity.
A Magical World Where Government Discriminates Against the Nonmagical
The anime Mashle: Magic and Muscles offers an absurdist metaphor for politically driven discrimination.
Trump and Biden Both Get Globalization Wrong
Free trade brings us more stuff at lower prices.
Opposition to U.S. Steel Sale Shows How Similar Biden and Trump Are on Trade
Economic nationalists are claiming the deal endangers "national security" to convince Americans that a good deal for investors, employees, and the U.S. economy will somehow make America less secure. That's nonsense.
The U.S. Steel/Nippon Deal Should Be None of Joe Biden's Business
Both companies consented to the deal. Why should they have to get permission from the president to do business?
Review: Godzilla Minus One Rejects the Idea of a 'Noble Death' in War
Director Takashi Yamazaki brings to the screen the most dreadful version of Godzilla since the franchise began.
Politicians Need To Stop Pretending the National Debt Is Sustainable
The reality raises questions about the kind of future we want to leave for the next generation.
Over 300,000 Ohioans Are Employed by Foreign Companies. Why Isn't J.D. Vance Outraged?
Companies based outside the United States employ 7.9 million Americans. Foreign investment isn't something to be feared or blocked, but welcomed.
It's Not a Cigarette. It's Not a Vape. And It's Big in Japan.
Heated tobacco products are coming to America, at long last. How will they change the landscape for smokers and prohibitionists?
3 Economic Myths That Need To Die
As we step into 2024, it's crucial to adopt a more informed perspective on these dubious claims.
12 Increasingly Off-the-Wall Housing Reforms
American cities and states passed a lot of good, incremental housing reforms in 2023. In 2024, we'd benefit from trying out some long shot ideas.
Genre-Bending Anime Spy x Family Tackles Cold War Espionage
State power and oppressive surveillance serve as the backdrop for this animated spy comedy.
What J.D. Vance Could Learn From Reading Hillbilly Elegy
The senator used to know why the U.S. Steel/Nippon deal is nothing to fear.
Baseball Star Shohei Ohtani's New Contract Is a Massive Tax Avoidance Scheme. Nice!
He could save $98 million by dodging California's state income taxes with his unusual, eye-popping contract.
In Godzilla Minus One, Government Won't Save Anyone When the Crisis Comes
To fight the King of the Monsters, private citizens must band together.
Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron Is a Dream-Like Swan Song for a Great Animated Filmmaker
A magical, mysterious deeply personal movie about creation and legacy. And also, murder parrots.
Politicians Say They Want To Fight Climate Change. So Why Are They Fighting China on Electric Vehicles?
Rather than posing a national security threat, the growth of China's E.V. industry is an opportunity for global innovation.
China Is No Economic Model for America
The country's current struggles show the problems of the Beijing way—and make the case for freedom.
Industrial Policy Isn't About Creating Jobs
It's a short-sighted approach that distracts us from the more important question.
China's Purchases of U.S. Land Stoke Bipartisan Panic, Just Like Japan's Did In the 1980s
People panicked in the 1980s that Japan's economic largesse posed a grave threat to American interests. Then the market reined it in.
The Government Is Subsidizing Microchip Firms—While Making It More Expensive To Produce Microchips
Politicians say they want to subsidize various industries, but they sabotage themselves by weighing the policies down with rules that have nothing to do with the plans.
The Jones Act Is Driving Up Prices and Making Crises Worse
The legislation, which forbids shipping anything between American ports in ships that are not U.S. built and crewed, is just another a special deal that one industry has scammed out of Congress.
The Answer to Population Decline Is More Immigration
Politicians' go-to fixes like child tax credits and federal paid leave are known for creating disincentives to work without much impact on fertility.
Mike Pompeo Says He 'Grew Up Libertarian'
These days, he may run for president. His politics have changed.
Markets Aren't Perfect, but Government Is Worse
The free market allows people to cooperate, fix errors, and adapt to changing circumstances.
Japan Is Reopening Nuclear Power Plants and Planning To Build New Ones
If Japan can get over its anti-nuclear Fukushima freak out, then the rest of the world should too.
Jacob Sullum: Why Japanese Gun Control Isn't a Model for America
Senior Editor Jacob Sullum examines how the claim that Japanese gun restrictions account for the country's low violent crime rate isn't as simple as it sounds.
Japan's Gun Restrictions Are Far From Sufficient To Explain Its Low Crime Rate
While gun control enthusiasts rushed to defend Japan's firearm restrictions after Shinzo Abe's assassination, copying that approach in the U.S. is legally, politically, and practically impossible.
New Japanese Law Makes 'Online Insults' a Jailable Offense
Dedication to free speech is in short supply around the world, with Britain and Canada previously considering similar bills.
Boris Johnson Is Out as Britain's Prime Minister. Who Will Replace Him?
Plus: Why one pitcher wants the MLB to stop COVID testing, how shipping industry protectionism is slowing aid to Ukraine, and more...
A Classic Biden Gaffe Complicates U.S. Role in Taiwan
Will Xi Jinping just chalk up Biden's latest remarks as an accidental straying from "strategic ambiguity"?
Japan's COVID-19 Strategy, Focused on Warnings Rather Than Mandates, Points the Way Forward
The country, which has a much lower fatality rate than the U.S., eschewed lockdowns in favor of information.
Congress Spends More on Defense Than the Next 10 Countries Combined
We can't afford to keep funding defense contractors' cost overruns.
How to Reform the Olympics
The Olympics are a great sports event. But there is no reason to tolerate the massive public subsidies, forced displacement of populations, and propaganda coups for authoritarian regimes that go along with them.
With Spectators Banned, Tokyo Olympics Look Like an Even Bigger Money Pit
More than 30 venues, some of which predate the Olympics but many of which were purpose-built at public expense, will be occupied solely by coaches, athletes, and judges.
Trump's Trade Deal With Japan Is Good. Staying in the TPP Would Have Been Better.
Signing a trade with Japan is a small step in the right direction, but it only cancels out a portion of the damage that Donald Trump has done.
This One Chart About Global Aging Changes Everything
"For the first time ever there are now more people in the world older than 65 than younger than 5."
NIMBYs Argue New Housing Supply Doesn't Make Cities Affordable. They're Wrong.
Tokyo is a shining example of how free market housing regulations can keep even big, growing cities affordable.
Trump, Reagan, and Why Republicans Flip-Flopped on Free Trade
The Donald is more like The Gipper on trade policy than you think. And not in a good way.
