NEW YORK ― Soon after the global financial crisis erupted in 2008, I warned that unless the right policies were adopted, Japanese-style malaise ― slow growth and near-stagnant incomes for years to come ― could set in. While leaders on both sides of the Atlantic claimed that they had learned the lessons of Japan, they promptly proceeded to repeat some of the same mistakes. Now, even a key former U.S. official, the economist Larry Summers, is warning of secular stagnation.The basic point that I ra

WASHINGTON ― Secretary of State John Kerry was trying to choose his words carefully in talking about his negotiations for a comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran and a “framework agreement” between Israelis and Palestinians. As recent experience has shown, one loose statement from Kerry ― say, about the risk of a boycott of Israel if the peace talks fail ― can mean days of damage control. But Kerry isn’t very good at dissembling, and he answered some questions even after saying he shouldn’t. It w

The two main political parties are relapsing into confrontational mode over the National Intelligence Service’s alleged election-meddling scandal, raising concerns that the ongoing National Assembly session may be disrupted. The scandal has reemerged as a burning issue following the court’s acquittal on Thursday of Kim Yong-pan, a former Seoul police chief who was indicted on charges of hampering a police probe into the allegations that the spy agency had meddled in the 2012 presidential electio

One of the great ironies of the post-Lehman Brothers financial crisis is that the euro, a currency much of Wall Street thought unable to survive the storm, became a haven. The reason was simple enough: The European Central Bank was the only one in a major developed economy to abstain from quantitative easing. By refusing to follow the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and Bank of Japan in flooding markets with the currency that it managed, the ECB ensured that the euro remained strong, e

MUNICH ― Edward Snowden’s supporters have portrayed him as the champion of Internet freedom. But when senior European and American experts privately discuss the future of cyberspace, their fear is that the Internet may be closing, post-Snowden, rather than opening. “We may be the last generation to take joy from the Internet,” because of new boundaries and protectionism, as one American glumly put it.Privacy advocates would argue that any dangers ahead are the fault of the pervasive surveillance

Migrants from rural communities have changed the complexion of politics in urban areas, creating a new demographic that political parties should be aware of.Last year, on May 5, Malaysia’s urban voters once again upset ruling coalition Barisan Nasional’s carefully prepared ― if unrealistic ― plans.With leading component party, the United Malays National Organization (Umno) fully expecting a surge to victory in Selangor, the prime minister instead was confronted by a resounding rebuff as the oppo