The Japanese Dilemma

Part 1 / 3

by Macro D

This essay opens a three-part series on Japan: a personal, macro, and policy meditation braided together. In Part 1, I trace the roots of my lifelong bond with Japan — from islander kinship and autumn obsessions to the anime and myths that formed my first window on the country—and set the stage for today’s dilemma: a nation where monetary fragility and strategic tension now move in lockstep. The narrative follows the re-emergence of an Abe-style doctrine through Sanae Takaichi, and asks whether a past-coded playbook can navigate a present defined by inflation drift, JGB volatility, and a hardening security perimeter vis-à-vis China and Taiwan.

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