Transnational Thursday is a thread for people to discuss international news, foreign policy or international relations history. Feel free as well to drop in with coverage of countries you’re interested in, talk about ongoing dynamics like the wars in Israel or Ukraine, or even just whatever you’re reading.
- 6
- 4
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
Japan
It appears as though the value of the Yen is currently in free fall. I can't say I know enough economics to explain the causes or potential implications of this, but it seems concerning nonetheless.
Saudi Arabia
Apparently the Saudis have secured funding for their rather adventurous future city concept, or at least a toned down version of it. While I'm all for innovation in the field of architecture, I certainly hope for things that are a bit more practical.
Armenia
The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan are scheduled to meet in Kazakhstan to presumably formalize the Armenian loss of Nagorno-Karabakh and probably handover of some additional territory in return for economic concessions. Or maybe the talks will break down and we'll have another genocidal war on our hands. Hard to tell.
Canada
The Canadian police have arrested three Indian nationals over the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, continuing the Canada-India dispute that has bemused and disinterested onlookers around the world going "...huh?" and "what the fuck is Khalistan?"
Japan's interest rates sticking in the negatives while everyone else's are soaring seems like the biggest factor there. You can just borrow yen at 0% and sell it to buy US treasuries for 5%, and if the bank of japan wants to keep rates low they just have to suck it up and subsidize it by burning through their reserves (I think? It's been a long time since int finance)
Whoever in the LDP kept up the pressure to get the reactors back online deserves a medal. They're still importing 10bcf of LNG per day last I checked, but thats 30% less than a decade ago. Plus coal imports are down from the quarter billion ton peak. That'd be absolutely crippling at 150 yen to the dollar.
Japan has structural factors to do with their debt to GDP ratio and demographic pyramid which incentivize them not to prioritize keeping inflation down, doesn't it?
Japan is so weird I hate speculating about it. Just the strangest behavior by consumers and companies. I want to find a reliable expert on the subject, so please let me know if you find one.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link