Columnist

William Pesek

William Pesek is a Tokyo-based journalist, former columnist for Barron’s and Bloomberg and author of “Japanization: What the World Can Learn from Japan’s Lost Decades”. Twitter: @williampesek

Shinzo Abe is poised to become Japan’s long serving prime minister on Thursday, a chance to fulfil his dream to revise the pacifist constitution. Yet Donald Trump’s trade war and slowing demand may get in the way, writes William Pesek.

Opinion

Plot thickens for Abe’s third term in Japan

16 Sep 2018 - 7:10pm

Unhinged by Woordward’s expose, Trump may create a ‘Wag the Dog’ crisis for Asia’s markets

Opinion

Watch out, as an unhinged Trump may make Asia his next target

9 Sep 2018 - 9:06pm 19

With an ally like Trump, does South Korea’s president Moon Jae-in really need an adversary?

Opinion

With an ally like Trump, does Moon Jae-in really need an enemy?

2 Sep 2018 - 10:20pm 16

Trump’s trade war undermines Japan’s attempt to kick stalling wages and economy into higher gear

Opinion

Trump trade war is a damp squib on workers’ pay packets ... in Japan

26 Aug 2018 - 11:03am

This week, stay close to a phone as global central bankers gather to find a solution to market crisis

Opinion

Stay near a phone this week as central bankers ponder the next move

19 Aug 2018 - 9:01am 2

Asian central banks are getting their mojo back in calling for ‘time out’ on the party of easy liquidity

Opinion

Asia’s central banks are calling for ‘time out’ on the easy-money party

12 Aug 2018 - 10:41pm 2

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe raising a toast during a state dinner at the Malacanang Presidential Palace in Manila on January 12, 2017. Photo: AFP

Opinion

Japan’s place at the top of Asia’s stock markets may be fleeting

5 Aug 2018 - 8:27pm 3

Bank of Japan, caught between Trump and a hard place, must also confront ghosts of its past

Opinion

Bank of Japan is caught between Trump and a hard place. Here's why

29 Jul 2018 - 8:50pm

America’s creditors are fed up with Trump’s squander of US economic growth as he picks fights

Opinion

America’s creditors are fed up with Trump’s squander of US growth

22 Jul 2018 - 11:25am 23

The trouble with this clash of the titans, as Singapore and South Korea are learning, is that neither Donald Trump nor Xi Jinping understands the other

Opinion

When giants go to war, the epic fallout is felt from Singapore to Seoul

16 Jul 2018 - 8:46am 3

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a speech in Tokyo on July 1, 2018, during a ministerial meeting of 16 Asia-Pacific countries negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership trade deal. Photo: Kyodo

Opinion

Japan’s quiet #MeToo moment is an economic indicator

9 Jul 2018 - 7:20pm 6

Asia’s chief executives do not work for Donald Trump, or do they?

Opinion

Asia’s chief executives do not work for Donald Trump, or do they?

1 Jul 2018 - 8:13pm 9

Do Asian central banks want to add exposure to a president whose only consistency is erratic behaviour? Photo: Reuters

Opinion

Are Trump’s Asian bankers about to call in their loans?

24 Jun 2018 - 10:30pm 22

Bank of Japan’s attempt at reflating the economy is getting trumped by US trade war threats

Business

With an ally like Trump, does Japan really need an enemy?

17 Jun 2018 - 10:49pm 3

South Korean President Moon Jae-in took office in May 2017, but shortly thereafter pivoted from a focus on the economy to North Korean peace. The problem is Moon’s Pyongyang detente has eclipsed all else

Opinion

South Korea’s economy is the casualty in the Trump-Kim detente

10 Jun 2018 - 10:51pm 1

It’s time to get the popcorn and buckle your seat belts as Soros gets under Trump’s skin

Opinion

Get the popcorn and buckle your seat belts as Soros trolls Trump

3 Jun 2018 - 11:00pm 3

Asia’s US$200 billion man would be better placed to consider disruptions closer to home

Opinion

Asia’s hundred billion-dollar man should disrupt closer to home

27 May 2018 - 9:36pm 1

China’s trade surplus with the US hit a record US$375 billion in 2017. Photo: AFP

Opinion

Trump’s Nobel goal is creating false hope on US-China trade

20 May 2018 - 10:47pm 5

Malaysia’s newly elected Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Photo: EPA

Opinion

A bullish sign from Malaysia, of all places

13 May 2018 - 8:50pm 1

An electronic stock indicator at a securities company in Tokyo. The BOJ holds more than 75 per cent of exchange-traded funds and 45 per cent of government debt. Photo: AP

Opinion

Why the Bank of Japan could still shock markets

6 May 2018 - 10:30pm

Starting change from home is how India bests South Korea, China and Japan

Opinion

Change at home is where India bests South Korea, China and Japan

29 Apr 2018 - 10:54pm 1

Cargo ships line up at the Port of Long Beach in California. Trump’s trade tariffs are making the emerging markets hit the hardest five years ago look like safe havens. Photo: Bloomberg

Opinion

Trump’s trade crusade is making emerging markets great again

8 Apr 2018 - 7:11pm

Ready or not, the PBOC is morphing into the Fed of Asia. Yi Gang must act quickly to ensure China’s most vital institution is ready for prime time. Illustration: Craig Stephens

Insight & Opinion

Globalisation of People’s Bank of China brings challenges for Yi Gang

23 Mar 2018 - 3:58pm

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte at an Asean summit dinner on November 12, 2017, in Manila. Photo: AP

Insight & Opinion

The global consequences of Trump ‘Dutertefying’ the White House

15 Mar 2018 - 11:18am 6

A trade war between China and the US would set Asia up for a dangerous tit-for-tat cycle that’s unprecedented in the globalisation age. Illustration: Craig Stephens

Insight & Opinion

Tools of the trade war: Trump’s tariffs may hurt Asia and the US

23 Mar 2018 - 12:43pm 7

President Rodrigo Duterte admires a portrait of himself at the presidential palace in Manila. Photo: EPA-EFE

Insight & Opinion

Another term for Duterte could spell economic doom for Philippines

19 Jan 2018 - 2:28pm 8

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has not been content to sit and watch the feud between the US and North Korea escalate, but his own efforts to defuse the tensions distract from domestic troubles that require attention, namely reform of his country’s massive conglomerates. Photo: Reuters

Insight & Opinion

While Kim and Trump bluster, Moon should rein in conglomerates

11 Jan 2018 - 7:08pm

Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has emerged from retirement to challenge incumbent Najib Razak. Photo: Reuters

Insight & Opinion

Mahathir-Najib feud masks Malaysia’s bad budgetary priorities

6 Dec 2017 - 7:51pm

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands before talks in Da Nang, Vietnam, on November 11. Photo: Kyodo

Insight & Opinion

Is US retreat from Asia pulling China, Japan and South Korea closer?

16 Nov 2017 - 7:18pm 1

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Donald Trump shake hands during their summit meeting in New York on September 21. Photo: Kyodo

Insight & Opinion

Trade trouble looms for Abe during Trump’s visit to Japan

3 Nov 2017 - 12:07pm

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attends a press conference in Tokyo on Monday. Photo: Xinhua

Insight & Opinion

Emboldened Abe’s constitutional quest threatens regional stability

25 Oct 2017 - 7:04pm 1

Tokyo governor and Party of Hope leader Yuriko Koike attends a news conference at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government headquarters on 29 September. Photo: EPA-EFE

Insight & Opinion

Can Yuriko Koike shake up Japan’s politics and economy?

6 Oct 2017 - 7:29pm

Thai banknotes on display at a restaurant in Bangkok, before they are donated to a temple. Photo: May Tse

Insight & Opinion

Echoes of the Asian financial crisis in Thailand’s hot money problem

17 Sep 2017 - 6:46pm 1

Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte speaks during the 23rd anniversary of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, in Taguig city, on August 30. For some, Duterte’s hardline approach to drug crime brings up memories of dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Photo: EPA

Insight & Opinion

Investors wary as Duterte revives bad old Marcos days in Philippines

7 Sep 2017 - 4:37pm 2

South Korean President Moon Jae-in salutes the national flag during a cabinet meeting at the presidential Blue House, in Seoul on August 21. Photo: AP

Insight & Opinion

Jailing of Samsung heir shows S Korea’s Moon Jae-in means business

30 Aug 2017 - 11:57am 1

President Donald Trump waves as he walks across the South Lawn of the White House, on August 22. Photo: AP

Insight & Opinion

Why China and Japan need to worry if Trump is finished

23 Aug 2017 - 8:28pm 3

There may indeed be valid reasons to curb China Inc. Its dizzying overseas buying binge amounted to nearly US$350 billion in the past few years. Illustration: Timothy McEvenue

Insight & Opinion

China’s grey rhino hunt should extend beyond its tycoons

4 Aug 2017 - 6:28pm

Prime Minister and Umno president Najib Razak (in red) during the opening ceremony of the ruling party’s 69th general assembly in Kuala Lumpur, in December 2015. Photo: EPA

Insight & Opinion

Why a resurrected Mahathir Mohamad is Malaysia’s best hope

26 Jul 2017 - 6:53pm 11

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with European Council President Donald Tusk (left) and Jean-Claude Junker, president of the European Commission, before talks in Brussels on July 6. Japan and the European Union later announced a broad agreement on a free trade deal. Photo: Kyodo

Insight & Opinion

How Abe’s Tokyo election debacle may shake up Asia

11 Jul 2017 - 6:47pm 2

William Pesek says regional economies that appear to have recovered from the crash are struggling with structural problems and stagnating incomes, as policymakers baulk at needed reforms. Beijing, now facing similar risks, should take note

Insight & Opinion

Asia’s 1997 crash teaches the need for reform, but is China listening?

2 Jul 2017 - 6:06pm 1

Federal Reserve Board chairwoman Janet Yellen speaks during a news conference on June 14. Photo: Reuters

Insight & Opinion

Why Fed rate hikes are good for Asia

3 Jul 2018 - 9:47pm

William Pesek says in a world continually rocked by the latest Trump tweet, China and Japan need to recognise the enormous opportunities for the two Asian powers and humanity at large, if their leaders can set aside differences

Insight & Opinion

Five ways Xi and Abe can power the Asian century

15 Jun 2017 - 7:14pm 5

Insight & Opinion

Economic shock therapy not working for Xi, Modi and Abe

6 Jun 2017 - 7:19pm 1

People are reflected in mirrors as they walk through a busy shopping district in Tokyo this month. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plan to end deflation and increase competitiveness is in need of a boost. Photo: Reuters

Insight & Opinion

Japan needs an ‘Asia pivot’ in China’s direction

28 May 2017 - 7:59pm 7

Malcolm Turnbull is sworn in as Australia's new prime minister in Canberra on Tuesday. Photo: EPA

Opinion

Australia’s new PM confronted by economic challenges of globalisation

15 Sep 2015 - 4:02pm

An SUV looking much like the Land Rover Evoque is on sale in China at a third the price of the original. Photo: AP

Opinion

'Made by China' is what Chinese consumers want now

8 Aug 2015 - 8:33am 10

Samsung managed to convince the subsidiary’s shareholders to ignore their own interests. Photo: AP

Opinion

A win for Samsung’s ruling family is South Korea’s loss

20 Jul 2015 - 1:20pm