What's next for me

A personal update

When I turned on subscriptions earlier this month, I noted that I would have a personal update soon. I can now share some exciting news with all of you.

What’s going on?

In the coming weeks, I will be leaving the German Marshall Fund to focus full-time on research and analysis of Japanese politics and political economy. The main vehicle will be a new research firm I am launching called Japan Foresight LLC. You can view the website here.

Through Japan Foresight, I will be providing timely, forward-looking analysis of major developments in Japanese politics, fiscal and monetary policy, corporate governance, industrial policy, and Asian geopolitics. It is an exciting time for Japan and I am eager to return to writing the kind of impactful research notes I wrote for Teneo Intelligence for almost the whole of the second Abe administration. This product is intended for hedge funds, banks, institutional investors, embassies, and other organizations watching Japan closely. Along with written analysis, I will be scheduling regular calls and briefings with clients.

If you have questions about my services or pricing, or are interested in a trial subscription, please be in touch to discuss via Japan Foresight’s contact page.

What does this mean for this newsletter?

Observing Japan will, if anything, continue to grow. When I launched subscriptions, it was with the intention of growing the audience for this newsletter alongside the client base for Japan Foresight. I plan to write here more frequently, including not only the “This Week in Japanese Politics” feature but also regular analysis of new opinion polls (a favorite topic of mine that is not always market relevant), book reviews, and other deep dives into political subjects that will not necessarily be suitable for Japan Foresight. I also am hoping to begin work on several book projects, and I will likely use the newsletter to share some thoughts and notes as those projects proceed.

As such, I hope that you will consider buying a subscription if you have not already done so. Subscriptions will be $50/year and $5/month through March 31, and will increase to $60/year and $6/month on April 1. As promised, I will keep all posts free to subscribers through the end of March but will then begin paywalling some posts – including the “This Week in Japanese Politics” – thereafter.

And if you have subscribed already, I hope that you will participate in my referral program. If you enjoy this newsletter, it would mean a lot if you invited friends to subscribe. If you refer friends, you will receive benefits that give you special access to Observing Japan.

How to participate

1. Share Observing Japan . When you use the referral link below, or the “Share” button on any post, you'll get credit for any new subscribers. Simply send the link in a text, email, or share it on social media with friends.

2. Earn benefits. When more friends use your referral link to subscribe (free or paid), you’ll receive special benefits.

• Get a 1 month comp for 3 referrals

• Get a 3 month comp for 5 referrals

• Get a 6 month comp for 25 referrals

To learn more, check out Substack’s FAQ.

Anything else?

Thank you all for your support so far and going forward. I know that there is a tremendous amount of interest in Japan out there, and I am eager to do my best to share my insights into Japan’s politics and policymaking.