Podcasts about ldp

Remarkable Fans, I am thrilled to introduce you to Paul Rosser! Paul's journey with Chick-fil-A began in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, where he started as a Team Member during high school. He gained valuable experience through Chick-fil-A's Interim Manager program (now part of the Leadership Development Program), and then became an Owner/Operator, first in Jackson, TN, and then in Lynnwood, WA, for over nine years. In 2024, he came full circle back to Knoxville, Tennessee and is now the proud Owner/Operator of Chick-fil-A Hardin Valley in Knoxville. You'll find his practical advice and engaging story to be incredibly valuable. Give it a listen! Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co  Cooper Connect is an independent entity and is not affiliated with, associated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Chick-fil-A, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. The name Chick-fil-A, Inc., along with its related names, trademarks, logos, and images, are the registered property of their respective owner. For official information about Chick-fil-A, Inc., please visit their website at https://chick-fil-a.com.

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito coalition and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) agreed Thursday 29th May to remove up to 110,000 redundant hospital beds across the country, in an effort to reduce social security costs. The three parties will formalize the agreement soon, aiming to include the reduction in the government's upcoming economic and fiscal policy guidelines, which will be adopted in June. Nippon Ishin estimates that reducing 110,000 hospital beds would save around 1 trillion yen in medical costs. "The three parties share the same recognition (about the effect of reducing hospital beds)," Ryohei Iwatani, secretary-general of the party, told reporters after meeting with officials from the LDP and Komeito earlier on the day. Episode notes: ‘LDP, Komeito, Nippon Ishin Agree to Reduce Hospital Beds': https://barrierfreejapan.com/2025/05/30/ldp-komeito-nippon-ishin-agree-to-reduce-hospital-beds/

We're thrilled to introduce you to Rachel Waters today! Rachel has dedicated nearly 10 years to the Chick-fil-A support center, holding various positions throughout her tenure. She has a unique story to share about the perseverance it took to land her current role, experiencing several rejections before finally getting that "yes." Interestingly, Rachel works at the Chick-fil-A Support Center despite never having worked in a Chick-fil-A restaurant. Have a listen as Rachel shares valuable insights for anyone exploring unique opportunities within the Chick-fil-A organization. Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co  Cooper Connect is an independent entity and is not affiliated with, associated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Chick-fil-A, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. The name Chick-fil-A, Inc., along with its related names, trademarks, logos, and images, are the registered property of their respective owner. For official information about Chick-fil-A, Inc., please visit their website at https://chick-fil-a.com.

Programledare: August SpångbergExperter: Robin Bylund & Leonard JägerskiöldPå länk: Fabian JalkemoKontakta redaktionen: linus@k26media.seVill ditt företag samarbeta med Viva fotboll? samarbete@tutto.seSociala Medier:Instagram - Viva_fotbollTwitter - VivafotbollTikTok - VivafotbollTidskoder:00:00 Intro00:20 EL-Finalen09:53 Jalkemo och Uniteds mörker44:23 De ”ovana” klubbarnas år47:10 Landslagstruppen54:27 Outro Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we're excited to introduce you to Joe Weber! Joe is a multi-unit Chick-fil-A Owner/Operator located in Castle Rock, Colorado. He brings a wealth of knowledge about the restaurant industry, drawing from his experience with Chick-fil-A and other concepts. Joe also has a unique connection with "Hope Kids" and will be sharing details about a weekly event he organizes for children in his community. We look forward to you hearing his insights on managing people and running a successful business.Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co Cooper Connect is an independent entity and is not affiliated with, associated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Chick-fil-A, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. The name Chick-fil-A, Inc., along with its related names, trademarks, logos, and images, are the registered property of their respective owner. For official information about Chick-fil-A, Inc., please visit their website at https://chick-fil-a.com.

Hello Remarkable fans! We are so thrilled to introduce you to today's guest, Andrew Allman! Andrew is the Owner Operator of Chick-fil-A Murray and Chick-fil-A Fashion Place in Utah! He has had quite the journey going from being a Raving Fan of Chick-fil-A to becoming an Owner/Operator of his own location! Be sure to listen to the end, because Andrew even gives us a sneak peak of some new items coming to the Chick-fil-A menu! Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co  Cooper Connect is an independent entity and is not affiliated with, associated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Chick-fil-A, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. The name Chick-fil-A, Inc., along with its related names, trademarks, logos, and images, are the registered property of their respective owner. For official information about Chick-fil-A, Inc., please visit their website at https://chick-fil-a.com.

Han är kanske inte så känd hemma i Sverige, men Per Oscar Brekell har verkligen gjort sig ett namn i Japan där han både ger ut böcker och är med i TV och berättar om sin stora passion, nämligen japanskt te. Japanpodden hängde med till tehuset Higashiya i Tokyo för att höra mer om Hojicha, Gyokuro och andra tevarianter. De må komma från samma buske, men odlingsprocessen, liksom skördandet och inte minst smaken skiljer sig markant mellan sorterna. NYHETERBank of Japan varnar för ekonomisk osäkerhetChefen för den japanska centralbanken Bank of Japan - Kazuo Ueda - uttryckte i veckan oro över osäkerheten kring USA:s handelspolitik och varnade för att oron i sig undergräver hushållens förtroende för ekonomin. Bank of Japan överväger att justera räntorna om det visar sig att inflationen överskrider förväntningarna. Styrräntan i Japan i januari till 0,5 % i januari efter att ha legat mer eller mindre stilla runt noll procent eller på minus under flera år.Handelsöverskottet med USA fortsätter att växaJapan hade under det senaste räkenskapsåret som slutade i mars ett överskott i handeln med USA på motsvarande 630 miljarder svenska kronor. Denna obalans är central i de pågående samtal med Trumpadministration om tullar. Trump har hotat med 24 % tull på japanska importvaror. Som ett motdrag överväger man från japanskt håll att öka importen av amerikanskt ris. Bara under mars månad ökade Japans export till USA med 3 % jämfört med året innan, medan exporten till Kina minskade under samma period.Japanska företagsledare vill se Takaichi som premiärministerEn opinionsundersökning gjord på uppdrag av nyhetsbyrån Reuters visar att över 90 % av de japanska företagen är missnöjda med premiärminister Shigeru Ishibas och hans regering. Bara en av tio tillfrågade företagsledare tycker att regeringen lever upp till förväntningarna. Många föredrar Ishibas partikamrat i det Liberaldemokratiska Partiet - Sanae Takaichi - som efterträdare. Företagen tycker dock att LDP i allians med Komeitopartiet ska fortsätta i regeringsställning eller möjligen som en trepartiallians med det Demokratiska Partiet som i nuläget är i opposition.Expo 2025 öppnar i OsakaI söndags, alltså den 13 april öppnade världsutställningen Expo 2025 i Osaka. Temat är "Re-Connect". Kejsar Naruhito och premiärminister Ishiba deltog i invigningen. Utställningen pågår i 184 dagar och syftet är att främja global samverkan och innovation. Utställningen förväntas locka miljontals besökare, även om prognoserna skruvats ned något eftersom många Osakabor tycker att inträdet på motsvarande nära 500 kronor per person är i högsta laget.Vad kan man då räkna med att få se? Ja, vad sägs om flygande bilar i form av elektriska drönare, grus från månens baksida och ett konstgjort hjärta i miniatyr framställt av stamceller.Sverige har tillsammans med övriga nordiska länder en gemensam paviljong och vill du hur den ser ut och se och höra intervjuer med nordiska företrädare rekommenderas Japanpoddens Youtubekanal.Japans födelsetal når ny bottennivå - Tokyo stad inför fyradagarsveckaUnder 2024 föddes endast 720 988 barn i Japan. Detta är det lägsta antalet sedan statistik började föras 1899. Födselantalet har minskat nio år i rad.Tokyos stadsförvaltning har på försök infört fyra dagars arbetsvecka för sina anställda från april 2025. Syftet är att förbättra balansen mellan arbete och privatliv samt att motverka den sjunkande födelsetalen. Anställda får möjlighet att ta tre dagar ledigt per månad. Föräldrar med små barn kan minska sin arbetstid med upp till två timmar per dag. Initiativet är en del av en bredare arbetslivsreform. Även flera företag i Tokyo sägs överväga att korta arbetstiden för sina anställda. Efter pandemin har även distansarbete blivit vanligare och många vill gärna fortsätta på den vägen. ​Hotellkedjor misstänks för kartellbildningJapans konkurrensmyndighet, Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), överväger att utfärda varningar till 15 hotelloperatörer i Tokyo för misstänkta brott mot antimonopollagen.Hotellen anklagas för att ha haft månatliga möten och delat information som rumspriser, beläggningsgrad och framtida prisprignoser. Även om man inte kunnat påvisa ren kartellbildning så uppger konkurrensmyndigheten att vissa hotell använde konkurrenters data för att sätta sina egna priser.Bland de berörda finns välkända aktörer som New Otani, The Okura Tokyo och Imperial Hotel.Myndigheten anser att detta informationsutbytet kan ha påverkat marknaden negativt.Hotellbranschen i Japan har återhämtat sig starkt efter pandemin, med ökad inhemsk och internationell efterfrågan. Detta, tillsammans med inflationen, har drivit upp rumspriserna rejält under 2024.Ado till Köpenhamn i juniDet japanska musikfenomenet Ado, känd för att hemlighålla sin identitet och inte visa sitt ansikte, ska ge sig ut på en ny världsturne och hon kommer till Köpenhamn och Royal Arena den 14 juni. Hennes mest spelade låt är hiten "Usseewa" ni just hördeAdo var mobbad i skolan och började sin karriär genom att ladda upp covers som hon spelade in hemma i garderoben, på Niconico och YouTube, och har sedan dess blivit den mest framstående artisten inom J-pop och anime-musik.Hennes andra världsturné, "Hibana World Tour", inleds den 26 april och pågår till den 24 augusti. Totalt 34 konserter på fyra kontinenter:"Hibana", betyder "gnista" på japanska, och Ado, som är född 2002, hoppas kunna tända en gnista globalt med turnen. Men vem hon är och vad hon egentligen heter, ja det får vi fortsätta sväva i okunnighet om. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit japanpodden.substack.com

Meet Chick-fil-A Owner/Operator William Braswell! William is the Owner/Operator of Chick-fil-A Cabot in Arkansas! After a wild 10-year journey, he was selected as the Owner/Operator for Cabot in January 2024, and he took over that location in June 2024. No spoilers here, but you will definitely want to listen up and be encouraged as he shares his story with us and teaches us to fall in love with the process!Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co Cooper Connect is an independent entity and is not affiliated with, associated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Chick-fil-A, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. The name Chick-fil-A, Inc., along with its related names, trademarks, logos, and images, are the registered property of their respective owner. For official information about Chick-fil-A, Inc., please visit their website at https://chick-fil-a.com.

Today, we're excited to introduce you to Brian Hogan! Brian is the Owner/Operator of Chick-fil-A Tanasbourne and Chick-fil-A Tualatin Valley in Oregon. Brian has been with Chick-fil-A for 20 years! He started when he was 16 and has a remarkable story of receiving a “divine calling” at 19 to become an Operator, and since then has helped develop four other Chick-fil-A Owner/Operators, including his dad! Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co Cooper Connect is an independent entity and is not affiliated with, associated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Chick-fil-A, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. The name Chick-fil-A, Inc., along with its related names, trademarks, logos, and images, are the registered property of their respective owner. For official information about Chick-fil-A, Inc., please visit their website at https://chick-fil-a.com.

Social media is passing around an announcement that Huawei is testing a China-domestically developed EUV machine. This machine uses an EUV light source known as Laser-induced Discharge Plasma, or LDP. This is in contrast to ASML's method, which is called the Laser Produced Plasma or LPP method. It is claimed that LDP is much more efficient than LPP. Smaller, simpler and with better energy efficiency. Has ASML just been DeepSeek'd? I have been asked to speak on this via email and Twitter. I guess I have to do it. There is so little out there about how this machine works, so I am not going to speculate. But people have tried LDP before and we can talk about that. Feel free to extrapolate from there. In today's cope video, let's take a look at the Laser-Induced Discharge Plasma EUV light source.

Social media is passing around an announcement that Huawei is testing a China-domestically developed EUV machine. This machine uses an EUV light source known as Laser-induced Discharge Plasma, or LDP. This is in contrast to ASML's method, which is called the Laser Produced Plasma or LPP method. It is claimed that LDP is much more efficient than LPP. Smaller, simpler and with better energy efficiency. Has ASML just been DeepSeek'd? I have been asked to speak on this via email and Twitter. I guess I have to do it. There is so little out there about how this machine works, so I am not going to speculate. But people have tried LDP before and we can talk about that. Feel free to extrapolate from there. In today's cope video, let's take a look at the Laser-Induced Discharge Plasma EUV light source.

The first Ishara open  House Challenge .Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.Odd Happenings{8:58 am, Wednesday, Sept. 3rd ~ 5 Days to go; the Final Salvo ~ at this time}I had deposited my Mother in the place I felt was safest for her   with OT (Oyuun T m rbaatar) at the Kazakhstan's UN mission. Her being my family was what mattered to them most. I picked her up on my way to work, which made my entrance into the lobby all that much more cataclysmic.I was traveling light with only Wiesława Živa providing me with security. Chaz, Pamela and Juanita were catching up with their sleep, with a promise of taking me out for a late lunch. That was really them telling me to not leave JIKIT until they came for me around 2:00 pm.So anyway, me, Mom and Wiesława walked into the ground floor of the Mil Ma Towers to find eleven people waiting on us. We were in downtown Manhattan in a part of town the NYPD paid particular attention to. What could go wrong, right? Two of the people were Amazons from Havenstone. With them were two fine young men from the US 'don't make me kill you' Department. By this time in my life I was sure they had one   which no one talked about.Five of my expectant visitors were of the same mold as those who protected Hana for me. Not the Ghost Tigers   that would have put me at ease. Sure, they were a gang of assassin and in this circumstance; I would have preferred them. As it was, ten sets of highly-trained Illuminati operative eyes kept me, my party and the four guardians of JIKIT in their overlapping fields of vision.The last two, were doing an impromptu family reunion. They were Aunts 'X' and 'Y', and neither of them smelled like fish, or crab."Aunt Deidre," I tossed out there. "What brings you here today?"It looked like clobbering time! No. Wait. Neither Mom, nor my aunts, were saying anything and they were normally so verbose."Sibeal.""Imogen.""Sibeal, you are looking surprisingly well for a dead woman," the other one said."Deidre, you are looking surprisingly alive for someone who deserves to be dead," Mom bantered back."How long have you known about this?" Imogen's eyes flickered my way."Not long, a while, more than a day, ah, take your pick," I mumbled. I decided to turn that frown aka 'my gut wrenching terror that my Mother was about to die' upside down aka ramped up my sexy, 'glad to see you in a totally incestuous way'."So, what brings you here today and why aren't you waiting upstairs with the rest of my band of cutthroats, malcontents and ne'er do-wells? Oh, and I'm happy to see both of you." Karma was about to bitch-slap the shit out of me and it was so well deserved."I'm pregnant," Imogen studied my reaction. Yeah, I had banged her after Deidre, but before Baibre because I am a fucking reprehensible human being and sometimes, I feel I am utterly irredeemable."Great news," I exhaled. I so wanted to ask 'so, who is the father?' except that was too cruel, even for an O'Shea.No one stopped me from stepping up and hugging her. Everyone in the lobby had heard her loud and clear. Anyone who knew me, or even about me, knew she wasn't passing on the information because Imogen liked sharing good news. I kept my hands on her hips while I leaned my torso back until we could make eye contact."Does Granddad know?" It occurred to me in that second that Pamela was going to kick herself for missing this and the opportunity to kick me as well."I told him over the phone. His reaction was neutral," she responded."Whoa, girl? Boy? How are you doing? When are we going to sit down and figure out a name? Is there anything I can do for you?""Come home with me," she suggested."No," Mom snapped. "Next time he steps into your custody, we all know you won't let him get away." She meant the plane trip to Ireland."No, Mom," I countered. "I'm a grown man now and I make my own decisions. That being said   no, I'm not going home with you.""Not only am I still in love with the concept of my personal freedom, I have important work to do. People are counting on me.""We are counting on you too," Deidre stated. "In fact, that is the other reason we came here. We need you.""Why do I feel that has to do with something besides sex?""Can we talk to you in private?" Imogen requested. There were a thousand and one reasons to say 'no'. Things like 'common sense', bad behavior   they had murdered my homicidal uncle   and the fact they were as morally twisted as their creator. Oh   and they were hot and I hadn't been laid in forever."Sure. Let's go upstairs. You can have your people sweep the room to ensure our privacy then the four of us can sit down and have a family chat," I offered."We don't want her in the room," Deidre indicated Mom."We are a package deal," I denied her. "Like her, or not, she is as much family to me as you both are."They consented far too fast. Either I was falling into their masterful trap, or something horrible had happened. Neither options was palatable to me. The bodyguards departed, Wiesława last of all."What's gone wrong?" Mom preempted me. Her sisters glared."Father's body is not his own," Imogen told us. I was trying to figure out the relevance of that when Mom gasped."Oh fuck," she said in a small voice. "No serum?" Oh yeah, the refinement of those addictive pheromones Grandpa Cáel had gifted me with. Whatever flesh-form he currently inhabited wasn't one containing his genetic make-up meaning,"Oh shit," I mumbled. "What can I do?""Yes," Deidre replied to Mom."Let them die," Mom insisted (to me). Less I forget, she was raised by Grandpa Cáel too. Her being a loving mother to me didn't translate over to her being a humanitarian of any kind."The Hell you say," I jumped up and stared down at Mom. "You hate them. I don't. Letting them die makes me worse than him." Grandpa."So you will help us?" Deidre moved to the edge of her seat."Okay. This is the point where I threaten you into making some concessions, we argue then you eventually cave in because no matter how terrible your futures look, you aren't willing to give up on living. None of that is going to happen. What do you need from me?""Come back with us to Ireland so we can finish our experiments," Imogen joined me in standing. Unwilling to give her sister any physical advantage, Mom stood as well."No. That isn't even a believable lie," I scolded her. "You don't need to blackmail me into helping you. I'll do it gladly. That doesn't mean I'll let you trick me into doing something stupid. I do 'stupid' all the time. I'm accustomed to it and I know it when its ugly head rises up before me. Try again.""We could pick a neutral location," Deidre suggested."How about Havenstone?" They didn't look like that plan was even worthy of their consideration. "Imogen, inside you is growing a possible heir to House Ishara. An attack on you would be an attack on Ishara. Barring you betraying the Amazons, you would be perfectly safe.""Wonderful," Mom's sarcasm dripped off every word. "I'm going to be a grandmother to my nephew while my son is bringing a child into the world that can double as his cousin.""That sound pretty horrible, Mom. It is the truth, but it still sounds pretty terrible."While those words tumbled out of my mouth, I did a little soul back-searching. How in the fuck was   outside of the actual fucking   was Imogen pregnant? My existence was a freaking fluke of nature. A few words were bandied about the room while I was lost in deductive reasoning and turning hunches into assumptions and turning those into reasonable mystic hypotheses.I created the Mojo-Little Engine that thought it could. Specifically, the legacy of Vranus. Legions of little Vranusian sperm had been jumping hurdle after hurdle to keep the faith alive   that Vranus would meet his Ancestors with his mission accomplished. I was already half way there.Still, the legacy of Vranus and the hopes of Dot Ishara hadn't stopped in their struggle just because I had been born. They were still trying to restore the mortal descendants of a Dead House. They were also still spiritually pushing me on to fulfill his last command   to save the Arinniti sons.I was halfway there by returning the offspring of Bolu, Vranus' fellow guardian, back to the fold. It remained for me to round up the purpose of the whole mission in the first place. My semen weren't taking a chance that I could get gakked before that was accomplished. Having knocked up an augur despite the toxic soup she called blood should have been a dire warning to me, I'm an idiot.When the curse of Sarrat Irkalli clashed with the actions of Dot Ishara, Ishara had won. Sarrat Irkalli sought to deny Alal any children of his own. Dot was insisting the male line of Vranus Ishara continue on. The end result was Alal received his long-denied grandson, who just happened to also want him dead because of a feud that stretched back over two millennia.As an added insult, his grandson then knocked up one of Alal's genetically manipulated daughters, again giving him something he couldn't accomplish on his own   heirs   grand-sons and  daughters, most who would also want to kill him, being Amazons and members of the 9 Clans after all. Why? Cause Goddesses are bitches, that's why.That got me to wondering when would be the next time I was going to meet Ishara. I hadn't suffered severe head trauma in while and she was overdue for some snuggle time, witty banter and a fortune cookie. I'd try to be careful. It wouldn't do any good, but I had to try."Why are you crying?" Mom touched my arm."No reason," I lied."Why don't we make plans for tonight?" Deidre insinuated herself next to me. "We'd like to meet Hana. From what I understand, Father likes her.""No can-do," I sniffled. "I've got an orgy with 159 women at 8 o'clock, except there won't be any sex, or fun of any kind. Basically, I have to convince a roomful of women to not beat me up and take my stuff.""You don't have to go," Imogen had finished boxing me in   I had a chair behind me and Momma-clones all around."For the same reason I'm going to take care of our child, Imogen, I have to go to this meeting. People are counting on me to do the right thing without telling me what the right thing to do is.""That's unfair," Deidre empathized by stroking my chest."Not so. This is just another day in the life of a new hire at Havenstone Commercial Investments. Every day is like this and in five more days, the real fun beings." That wasn't entirely accurate. I had one good, stress-free week. It was when Carrig put me in a coma. That week I had done pretty well for myself.{9:28 am, Wednesday, Sept. 3rd ~ 5 Days to go}I trundled my latest 'Assistant-in-Charge of keeping the hopes of future Isharans alive' (I didn't want to call Aunt Imogen, or any other woman, my 'Baby-Mamma'), along with Mom and Deidre, for a meet-and-greet with Buffy. I had spelled out in no uncertain terms that Buffy was the power behind the Ishara Throne and thus making 'her' believe they were playing on the up-and-up was their best hope for easing relations between the O'Shea and the Amazon Host.After they left me (with the assurance we'd be getting back together for lunch, with Hana), I made three calls. I needed to make a formal request to Katrina (any Illuminati member(s) entering any Amazon facility was her purview) and another to Elsa (as a sign of respect) that Aunt Imogen and two unarmed bodyguards, max, needed to see our medicos about a delicate issue.The third call was to Buffy to enlighten her as to both the arrival of another one of my aunts (so we needed to get along peacefully with her) and that Aunt Imogen was carrying yet another potential heir to House Ishara. I suggested it would be a symbolic gesture if a member of House Ishara could hang around for the visit, as it might impress upon Imogen our House had a vested interest in keeping her alive."Another one?" Buffy sizzled. "And this one is your aunt?""It is a date then," I stumped her."You are going to take your pregnant aunt out on a date?" Buffy's sizzle meter was rapidly climbing to Krakatoa proportions."Nope. I'm setting up a date for us. You, me and a quiet location at 12:01 am Tuesday morning, my First. Later in the morning, I'll be heading out to wherever they have stored Felix so we can work on some cooperative strategy.""And if I say 'no'?" She was terribly grumpy."Ugh, I guess I'll go bar-crawling with Odette and Timothy, Gay and Lesbian bars only. That way I know I'll behave.""And if they say 'no'?" she was slightly less hostile."I'll know you threatened their lives, and then you and I will finally find out who is better on the mats. Trust me, it will not be an experience you will enjoy.""I don't know. I think I'd like that.""No. You start threatening the other people I love and you will not be happy; I guarantee that, Buffy."She realized I was both serious and angry. She had stepped out of bounds, the 'bounds' I had set up two hours earlier during our elevator ride."Is the meeting still on for the night?" she evaded my disappointment."Yes. Will you be there?""Of course," she grumped."Buffy, don't bother showing up if you can't separate 'us' as friends, 'us' as Wakko Ishara and my First, and you as my apprentice."Making me miserable in the first relationship doesn't help the latter two one bit. I try not to be an irresponsible asshole as House Head. More than anyone else, you know what I will sacrifice to be Ishara and one with my Isharans. I'll also step out and be plain ole 'Cáel Nyilas' when events permit.""But I am sick and tired of people not taking my desire to be foolish and care-free seriously. Being a dogmatic ass-hat isn't in me, but if you can't work with that, from here on out we are Wakko Ishara and Buffy Ishara and nothing more. I will still trust you as an Isharan, but not as a friend. Your choice.""Don't be such an asshole!" she snapped."Screw you!" I fired back. "I made a fucking effort to plan out some personal time with you, disguised as a joke; you knew it and you still decided to be a ball-buster. Like I need another fucking ball-buster right now, with all the other shit on my plate. You know better!" I was screaming. The people in JIKIT were working overtime at not staring at me."I'm under a ton of stress here too," she snarled. "I have to deal with the Council, keep our House growing and fulfill my obligations with Executive Services.""Do you want to quit? No longer by my 'apprentice'? Go back to working for Katrina full time?""Really?" she whispered."Of course the fuck not!" I shouted. "I didn't pick you for the job because of your sterling personality, or your bedroom excellence. I picked you because I had, and still have, utter faith in your ability to do whatever is necessary to overcome the landfill-sized colossal ill-fortune the Ancestors have dumped in our lap.""I'm just asking you to stop being a whiny, over-sensitive cunt and remember: it was the psychotic bitch who I chose for the top spot," I rumbled."I'm going to kick your ass," she seethed."Nice to know. We on for Monday night?"Pause."Yes," and she hung up. Two seconds later my phone rang again. "Buffy?" I answered. "And don't be late!" she menaced, then hung up again."So," Addison turned my way, "are you praying for World Peace to break out, or Nuclear War?""Hardy-har-har," I griped."Now that your personal drama is temporarily derailed, we have something for you to look at," Mehmet motioned for my attention. "Ever heard of Kōfuku no Kagaku?" I shook my head. "It translates over as 'Happy Science' and it is a cult-like organization in Japan.""Cool beans. Why do I have a sinking impression it is not a front for the Ninja?""That is what we want you to find out," Addison took over. "Of critical importance is the news conference their leader, Ryuho Okawa, gave earlier this afternoon/morning (~ 3:17 pm Tokyo time = 2:17 am East Coast time ~), especially a very relevant part of his interesting public announcement."He claims to be the Earthly manifestation of the Supreme Being. That is old news. Today he claimed that Temujin of the Khanate was the reincarnation of the original Genghis Khan and, with him, Ryuho, as the unifier of theological forces and therefore serving as spiritual advisor to Temujin, they would usher in a new period of Peace throughout Asia.""I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop," I exhaled."He also claims that Japan is in the midst of an epic struggle, both spiritually and in the physical sense. The 'ancient guardians' of Japanese purity, the 6 Ninja Families, are at war with the depth of all Evil, the Chinese Seven Pillars of Heaven by name, who are determined to drag all of Asia away from the Light and into the Darkness of pain, degradation and slavery."In fact I quote: 'Alone among the nations of the Earth, only the Japanese cultural identity can stand firm against this global menace. Only the Japanese can keep the torch of true Enlightenment aloft. Only the Japanese can guide the development of the Khanate into the Supreme Empire it is meant to be'.""I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this guy is pseudo-religious, a Japanese ultra-nationalist as well as anti 'all things Sino'," came out of my mouth."Correct.""None of the Secret Societies would do something so public. Temujin's background is a mystery, but no one in the Khanate is calling him a reincarnated spirit, and they know the truth," I continued."This guy is pretty nutty," Mehmet confirmed. "He also claims to channel Buddha, Mohammed, Christ and Confucius. His followers worship him as the Earthly manifestation of the 'Supreme Being' named El Cantare, which is yet another name for any number of ancient supreme deities. And he claims to consult with the 'spirit guardians' of national leaders and aids in their mystic defense, with the aid of the Five Sacred Sisters' Spirits."Clearly this man was insane. Unfortunately, insane didn't make someone wrong,"Ah Hell," I muttered.Mehmet and Addison perked up; after all, figuring out the bizarre was my position on the team."He probably is insane, and I can't blame him," I sighed. "He isn't El Cantare; he is in touch with the Weave.""I have a feeling this is 'not good'," Addison murmured. "How bad is it?""The Five Sacred Spirit Sisters are most likely the five augurs who died in order to save Temujin, which, in turn, allies the 9 Clans with the E&S and Amazons to 'save' Japan, though it is not 'saved' yet.""Technically, the Weave IS the Supreme Being. It's largely indifferent, yet capable of doing both good and ill in response to outside (aka mortal) stimuli. If you can observe the Weave, you might be able to see the most likely path destiny is taking as well as the key players screwing with that destiny."That would include the Gong Tau sorcerers and the ninjas use of their own brand of magic; and God only knows what other mystic tricks the others have been attempting.""How do we get them to stop?" Captain Delilah Faircloth muttered."Not that easy Delilah. Everyone in this room has intersected because of a magic experiment that happened before any of us were born (Mom).""The fight at Summer Camp was flipped on its head because I saw the ghost the 7 Pillars sent to scout the area. My freeing of one of those trapped and tortured souls led to the calamity at the Barbeque Pit. I didn't use magic. I countered it. Still, my actions were interfering with the Weave."All four people the augurs, those Five Sisters, told me about had been dead at some point in time, some for thousands of years. Ajax didn't kill anyone using magic. Neither has Saku, yet both of them are products of disruptions in the Weave. 'Me' being alive and breathing is yet another disruption, since I shouldn't exist because of another mystic curse from five thousand years ago."Being alive and killing people means I've killed people who shouldn't be dead. Do we need to go into all the millions that have died in the Khanate war? Which was a combination of a resurrected Temujin and the 7 Pillars hunger for World Domination, if we do nothing, the rippled of those other disruption will still carry on."Except for me, no one on this taskforce has used an iota of magic, yet we are all dedicated to combatting mystical forces," I related to the group. I wondered where Rikki (Martin) and Beatrice (Ya Konan) had gotten off to. Lady Yum-Yum being absent only made my 'Scooby' senses tingle more."You use magic?" Agent-86 tilted his head in curiosity."I talk to a Goddess on a semi-regular business. I see ghosts. I've been the conveyer of messages from dead people and I've killed an un-killable man. Do we need to go back over my kidnapping by the 7 Pillars? The memories of my undead Grandfather floating around in my head?""I'm not calling thunderbolts out of the sky and shooting fireballs out my ass, but what I am doing is magical, nonetheless.""So, what do we recommend to our allies and benefactors (i.e., our sovereign governments)?" Mehmet inquired."Hmm, we tell our governments this crackpot is a Prophet of Doom who could be turned into an asset," I rubbed my brow with all four fingers and a thumb. Rikki, Beatrice and Lady Worthington-Burke quietly entered the room. They were all highly pleased in a 'I just won the lottery' kind of way. I was curious, but had to carry on with my train of thought."Quietly start seeking out other mystic societies, preferably low-key, quiet types who avoid the limelight, and start looking into other forms of magical insight and, quite frankly, protection. If the Weave has let this happen, we can expect worse. Lastly, I'll ask my 'Brother' to meet with this guy and get a feel for his personality.""That will only increase the believability of his ramblings," Addison protested."The boat called 'Denial' has already sailed. The World is in crisis. People are going to look for non-conventional answers. It is better to get ahead of this and bring Ryuho Okawa on board as a 'consultant'. Don't give him the whole picture by any means. The guy is definitely a loose cannon. Even worse, he is also a loose cannon the Weave has touched.""Besides, the Seven Pillars are going to figure this out pretty quick, their Weave sensitivity, ya know, and either kidnap him to be their own spiritual seismic sensor, or kill him for being both a loose cannon and yet another person screwing with their 'best laid plans'. Keeping him alive has the added benefit of making the Seven Pillars expend resources trying to get at him. Japan needs every bit diversion they can get."Let's not forget to tell our Secret Society allies of our plans, lest they kill him too. His babblings aren't going to make the 9 Clans or the E&S happy with him. They both have an established habit of making perceived enemies dead. Let's keep him alive and utilize this opportunity.""I like this plan," Addison nodded. Mehmet was clearly on board as well. Agent-86 clearly was playing the best on-line mystic MMORPG ever! (And with the added bonus that his team's action had real-world consequences.) The three 'ladies' new to the room received an abbreviated version of our discussion and my 'suggestions'. They weren't really suggestions. Barring a few insanely criminal endeavors, JIKIT treated me like a true asset."Something else big?" Addison looked to her British counterpart (Yum-Yum)."The Japanese Diet has voted for a public referendum on a Constitutional Amendment to repeal/revise Article 96 of the Japanese Constitution.""Oh fuck," was echoed, either verbally or subliminally, by everyone in the room except for me, Delilah and Agent-86.'Cáel' knew Jack and Shit about the Japanese Constitution. Hell, I barely knew about the US one and I was a native. However, Alal did know it, and knew both what Article 96 was and what its amendment really meant. Good-old 96 was the rolling dark cloud across the political Great Plains that heralded a swarm of tornados. Clouds were clouds and their arrival could mean anything.Article 96 dictated how the Japanese Constitution could be amended. The current process was a 2/3rd vote in both the House of Councilors (the 'Upper House', roughly equivalent to our Senate) and the House of Representatives (the 'Lower' House) followed by a public referendum. The proposed amendment to Article 96 would transform the process to a mere majority vote in both Houses.Imagine the shit-storm which would be unleashed if the US Congress tried to pull that shit. The biggest political issue was that the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) held 294 of the 475 seats in the lower house (a clear majority) and 115 of the 242 in the Upper House (7 seats short of a majority). If the amendment passed next month (October 14th to be precise), the LDP could pretty much do as they pleased.And what was the first thing they were going to do? They were going to put to rest another part of the Constitution, namely the far more globally important Article 9. And what was that?Real World Stuff: WarningsArticle 9:(1)Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.(2)To accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.If Article 9 was repealed, the Japanese nation could exercise diplomacy by military means, aka declaring an offensive war against a foreign power. Currently Japan had a modest budget military budget of $48 Billion a year (Earth's 10th largest). It was modest when you considered it was a mere 1% of the Japanese GDP. Great Britain, France and South Korea's smaller economies all functioned nicely with double that percentage for their military budget.Regionally, every other nation was increasing their military expenditures, except Japan's protector, the US and (perhaps) North Korea, who's spending on anything was a closely guarded state secret. Right now, China and the Khanate's military expenditures were running roughly even at $180 billion each, but this was an arm's race the PRC would eventually win, they had too great an advantage in the size of their workforce and a far larger industrial base.The truth was, if the PRC couldn't win this race fast, she was facing a long, grinding war reminiscent of the Communists' Long Rise to Power that wrecked their country a century ago. The monetary dynamic was shifting badly against them because the Khanate wasn't alone.India, Taiwan and Vietnam were also ramping up their war spending to a combined tune of $34 billion and now allied with the Khanate, equating to an additional $90 billion the PRC had to overcome. South Korea was already adding $8 billion to their military and Russia was taxing the fuck out of Manchuria to both pay for their 'Peaceful Intervention' and to increase the 'Readiness' of their other forces.All of this military spending was bad for both the regional and global economies (unless you were Israel who was turning out hardware 24/7/365 for the Khanate and Indian war machines). So at this point, Japan doing 'nothing' was possibly more disastrous than doing 'something' else.They were already spending $50 fucking billion on glorified policemen while the future of East Asia was being decided without them. Doubling the military budget would place a huge burden on the largely pacifistic population. It would also put Japan in the position of deciding the Fate of Nations.With the repeal of Article 9, Japan could utilize 'proactive means' to keep the naval supply routes to China open, not even the Indian's had the naval presence to confront the Japanese. Such a policy was a nice, friendly gesture to the Asian Colossus, who wasn't likely to show a shred of appreciation for their efforts.No, China had spent the last 60 years stoking the hatred of the Land of the Rising Sun among their people. (Many Japanese forgot current Chinese hatred was based on the Japanese butchering their way across China for nearly a decade between 1937 to 1945).(The Cornerstone) There was a truism which had guided American, Chinese, Japanese and Russian political thought for 150 years: 'There could only be one supreme power in East Asia and the Eastern Pacific'. Japan had followed the logical expression of that paradigm by invading Taiwan (1895), Korea (1910), beating up on Imperial Russia (1904), taking Manchuria (1931) and going to war with China (1937) while that country was trapped in a bloody civil war.To stop the Empire of Japan's rise, the US had attempted to cripple the Japanese economy before the Empire could harvest their just-acquired Asian natural resources. In response, Japan had thrown its soldiers and sailors into a futile effort against the British Empire, the United States and China and lost.With Imperial Japan crushed and the Soviet Union preoccupied in Europe, China had risen. The irresistible force of China's rapidly increasing population, natural resources exploitation and extensive land mass took hold. Japan couldn't compete in a 'fair' fight. Since 1945, the Japanese government had lived with the fear of aggression from Russia and/or China aimed their way.The US felt the same way, or they had. The fear produced by the broad acceptance of 'Only-One-Shall-Rule-Asia' had led to the Korean War, the half-century cease-fire along the Demilitarized Zone in Korea and the Vietnamese Civil War. The Communists in China and Russia had feuded until the Soviet Union collapsed under its own economic inadequacies.A reborn Russia, even with the ultra-nationalist Putin at the helm, couldn't stop China's growing domination. Asia was China's for the taking, until the Khanate rose up like some desert mirage in the Western Steppe, one that turned into the Mother of All Storms. So now, miraculously, the dominion of Asia was up for grabs once more.Japan could not overcome China; that was a given. The Dragon had more people, more resources and an almost three-fold larger economy. Given a decade, the PRC would grind the Khanate down. Once more it was the tyranny of numbers. Even India, Taiwan and Vietnam could only slow down the inevitable.India's subpar economic output marginalized the power of their citizenry. Taiwan had the proportional economy, but not nearly enough people. Vietnam had neither and had always had a rough time defending themselves, much less been successful confronting powers beyond her homeland. Putin's Mother Russia had a host of other problems, internal and external, so she had already contributed as much as Putin dared.Until Thursday morning, Tokyo Time, the undeniable Destiny of Asia remained in the hands of those men in Beijing. The dominoes were falling in a way those rulers had not foreseen and now fumed over. But on Wednesday night, there was no industrial power (with the population to back it up) which could threaten the People's Republic of China.Europe and the US wouldn't intervene. Much like the leadership in Japan, the Communist Chinese Politburo believed Putin had wagered as much as dared. No other nation on Earth mattered. Japan? That was laughable. Their Constitution bound the hands off their military behind their backs with a pledge of eternal pacifism.The Chinese weren't blind to the 250,000 men and women of the Japanese Self Defense Force. Without the political will, those troops might have well have been in Brazil. A hostile Brazil was actually a greater worry because Brazil was the powerhouse of South America, a G-8 economy and hungered for a Permanent Seat on the UN Security Council. The PRC was dedicated to denying their desire as it would have diluted the PRC's burgeoning diplomatic power.Japan? Ha.Thursday morning, in what was essentially an undetected (by anyone except the Ninja and JIKIT) coup d' tat, pacifism was sacrificed on the Altar of Nationalism. Article 96's demise was pre-ordained. A poll taken on July 1st, 42% of Japanese felt positively about the repeal of Article 96 while 46% opposed it.The same agency took a new poll on August 28th. The economic-political situation of Japan was going through a titanic tidal shift. If Buddhism moved you toward devout pacifist, the Khanate had liberated Tibet and was clearly withdrawing as the UN troops' boots hit the ground.If you were a Nationalist of any kind, you were seeing a whole lot more people at your rallies, accessing your websites and signing up to join your formerly fringe parties. If you were a Socialist, you were scared. Why? The PRC was in the process of nationalizing all of Japan's (and South Korea's and Taiwan's) business interests in China, for the 'Duration of the Emergency', or so they said.That meant plenty of Japanese workers were losing their jobs and looking to blame someone. You couldn't blame the centrist LDP. The LDP had been working alongside the Japanese Communist Party for months. They had done nothing wrong and had worked tirelessly for a peaceful diplomatic solution. It was their 'comrades' in China, their Marxist confederates, who were costing the hard-working Japanese workers their jobs.If you were in the Establishment, all of the above worried the crap out of you. Japan's economy had been limping along at barely-positive growth for a decade. Your aging population needed more and more from their public services and, worst of all, you had nothing in your political and economic tool box to escape the obvious oncoming national catastrophe.The possibility of a Global Recession loomed on the horizon, if they were lucky. Highly respected economists in Japan and elsewhere were examining all the key indicators over the past three months and were suggesting hording as a viable policy for middle class households to consider. If you were in the Developing World, worse was heading your way.The word being bandied about on those esteemed academic internet websites wasn't 'recession', it was depression. Global prosperity thrived on nations investing in both their own economy and the economies of other nations. The governments representing a third of the World's population were not investing in their economies.Unless you were a war profiteer, you could expect fewer consumer goods on the shelves; and what was there would cost more. Your income wasn't going up; your expenses were. If you were an Atheistic homeowner in the Western World with a secured 3.25% fixed rate home loan, you took up religion. The prime interest rate would be racing for the 20% mark and that was only if your economy was stable.If you lived in a country in the Developing World, your trade goods didn't compete with those created in the G-20. Your competition was with other Developing World businesses and the prize was the pocketbooks of those consumers in the G-20, which was a shrinking purse.It wasn't like you were being paid all that much to begin with; and now those once poor-paying, but at least plentiful, jobs were drying up. You needed your government to help you out. It wasn't like those governments could raise money by taxing the unemployed and under-employed. They didn't have money. And the rich in most of those same nations had a long and successful legacy of avoiding paying.Those growing economies had a few tried and tested 'solutions' for getting their countries through these rough stretches.The IMF? 'We are out to make 'positive' capital investments and your economic outlook doesn't look promising. We suggest 'austerity'.'The BRICS? Since India and China were basically in an undeclared state of war: 'we won't be loaning anyone anything for a while.'The BIS? 'As soon as the People' Bank of China, the Reserve Bank of India, the Central Bank of Ireland, the Bank of Israel and the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey get back to us about their sudden, serious lack of transparency, we'll call you back.'World Bank? Holy Shit! 'The world's going down the toilet, we will do what we can.'F Y I, I (as in Cáel) had been wrong. The 6 Elders of the Ninja families didn't talk to Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzō Awbee. They talked with another, far more immediately important man. So sue me (Cáel) for not knowing the inner workings of various world governments, and creatively interpreting events surrounding all those people I (Cáel) didn't. I'm a freaking Liberal Arts major with a fertile imagination, not a superspy, or even a competent Intelligence Analyst!}The Japanese government had appealed to the U.S., U.N., P.R.C., A.S.E.A.N., India; and (through back channels aka JIKIT) the Khanate for an end to this madness; all with typical results:The U.S.A: We are working on it (without letting them know what precisely they were working on)Japan: Well, do something fast. Our Government Bonds are about to be more useful as wallpaper.The U.N.: We are working on it (with their long-established tradition of not doing anything until the crisis had passed)Japan: You are preparing to pass a Resolution to move this matter from the First Committee to the Fourth Committee, gee, thanks guys. Will they be meeting sometime before Christmas?The PRC: We are too busy right now, so shut up, keep the trade lanes open, and was that your submarine we detected sneaking into our territorial waters?Japan: What? What do you mean you are 'too busy?' You are one of our biggest trading partners, your economy is going down the toilet, and, No! That was not our submarine in your territorial waters. That accusation is absurd.(Note from Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzō Awbee, to Admiral Katsutoshi Kawano, head of the JMSDF {the de facto Japanese Navy}), The PRC has made this outrageous claim that one of our submarines has been sneaking around their territorial waters. There is no truth to that rumor, right?Kawano: Which time?Prime Minister: Oh My God! What have you people been doing and why is this the first time I'm hearing about it?Kawano: Sir, if you are just now getting around to asking us, you don't want to know.Prime Minister: What do you mean 'I don't want to know?' I'm the head of the damn government and, you are right. Fine. There is no way I'm going back to the Chinese Ambassador and apologizing for any this. Is there any way this can come back to screw us over?Kawano: With all these US and British submarines helping us out, not very likely, Prime Minister.Prime Minister: Oh, very good. You are correct, I don't want to know what you 'haven't' been doing. I am ordering you to destroy all transcripts and recordings of this conversation.Kawano: It has been my distinct honor not having this conversation with you, Prime Minister. Sayōnara.ASEAN, What do you expect us to do about this? Have you seen the unimpressive combined sizes of our members' air forces and navies? Did you see the smack-down the Khanate has inflicted on the PLAN's South China Sea Fleet?Besides, the PRC is claiming that the Khanate launched covert attacks against the Parcels and Spratly islands which originated from Indonesian and Filipino waters. We are investigating the issue. If you are asking us for help, you are truly screwed. Don't call us. We will call you.Japan, {muttering} Investigating the attacks that came from your territory, bullshit! You are covering your own asses, damn it!(Note from Prime Minister, Shinzō Awbee, to Shotaro Yachi, Japanese National Security Advisor), I've heard an ugly rumor that the Khanate has forces secreted in the Philippines and Indonesia. Do you happen to know anything about it?Yachi: Yes Sir. We had advance notice of the organization, composition and destination of those forces.Awbee (while muttering 'no one tells me anything anymore'): What the! Would you please tell me what is going on.Yachi: We have made critical steps toward future alliances which will guarantee Japanese security for decades to come.Awbee What does that mean, and since when have you been creating and implementing foreign policy? We have a Minister for that, in case you somehow over-looked him at the last cabinet meeting. Wait! Does he know about this too?Yachi: No Sir, Foreign Minister Kishida is currently unaware of the Kinkyū tokushu sakusen tasukufōsu (Emergency Special Operations Task Force). Admiral Katsutoshi knows the basics of our operational policy, since we need to borrow some of his assets from time to time. Director-General Kitada (of the Public Security Intelligence Agency) and key personnel from the Foreign Ministry's Intelligence & Analysis Service and Security Bureau make up the majority of the task force's operatives.Awbee: What have you been doing?Yachi: You don't want to know, Mr. Prime Minister. It would make things, awkward.Awbee: 'You don't want to know', of course, I don't. I'm only the elected head of this government. Why would I possibly want to know what acts of espionage and war my deputies are executing?Yachi: I am glad we are on the same page, Sir. Will there be anything else?Awbee: No, wait. Do you have any intelligence on what the Khanate is up to?Yachi: Yes Sir. Is there anything in particular you want to know?Analysis Services: Can you contact someone in their leadership willing to discuss regional affairs?Yachi: I can put you in touch with the Great Khan himself if necessary.AS: What!Yachi: Sir, I would hardly be acting in our nation's best interests if I couldn't divine the intentions of the key players on the stage. Shall I initiate the necessary communications to facilitate that level of clandestine diplomatic contact?AS: No. Yes. No, I need to think about this. Hmm, have you been conducting any domestic espionage missions?Yachi: You don't want me to answer that, Sir.Awbee: of course I don't, I'm only the damn Prime Minister. Shotaro, I'm still Prime Minister, aren't I?Yachi: Yes Sir. We have been working overtime to ensure that. We've foiled two enemy assassination attempts and one attempted kidnapping so far. We remain vigilant.AS: How come this is the first I'm hearing about it? Is the head of my security in on this conspiracy of yours too?Yachi: No Sir. These particular guardians wish to avoid notoriety at all costs.Awbee: Okay. Good to know. Ah, keep up the good work and destroy any trace of this conversation.Yachi: Way ahead of you, Sir. Have a good night.India, Yes, we are more than willing to work with you toward regional stability. Care to acknowledge the Khanate's legitimacy first? We'd really appreciate it. Sure, get back to us when you've done that. Until then, the South China Sea Awaits! Yes, we plan to keep what we've earned. Later now. We think there is going to be further instability in Southeast Asia.Japan, Ya think? It is your damn warships sailing around the freaking South China Sea enforcing your utterly un-secret alliance with the Khanate. Why are you doing this to us? What have we ever done to you?The Khanate, We are not out to damage your national interests. We apologize, but there is now way we will call off this war with the Communist Chinese. It is them, or us, to the death. We have already received and agreed to your request to allow all Japanese flagged ships safe transit through the South China Sea. We really wish to be your friends this time, to make up for those two invasion attempts seven hundred years ago.(Note from  Prime Minister to Self) Great. The only reasonable people who aren't out to kick me in the nuts are also the ones I can't acknowledge talking to. I've got to do something a

This week: Miyazaki's time as a politics reporter, the end of his reporting career, and his return to the family business. How did he go, in the span of five years, from a successful reporter to a wanted criminal facing police prosecution? Show notes here. 

Meet Owner/Operator Tony Levine! After a successful coaching career of nearly 25 years, Tony made the leap from Coach to Operator. He has two successful locations in the Houston market and is doing big things for his community. Take a listen as Tony talks about communication and positive confrontation.Learn more about Cooper Connect here: www.cooperconnect.co  Cooper Connect is an independent entity and is not affiliated with, associated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Chick-fil-A, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. The name Chick-fil-A, Inc., along with its related names, trademarks, logos, and images, are the registered property of their respective owner. For official information about Chick-fil-A, Inc., please visit their website at https://chick-fil-a.com.

岸田文雄前首相と菅義偉元首相石破茂首相が自民党衆院議員に商品券１０万円を配布していた問題に関連し、岸田文雄前首相も在任中に同党議員に商品券を配っていたことが分かった。 Former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gave gift certificates to lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party while in office, LDP sources said Wednesday.

Today we're thrilled to introduce Chick-fil-A Owner/Operator Nick Westbrook. Nick is the Operator of Chick-fil-A Hinesville as well as a Chick-fil-A food truck. He even finds time to host his own Podcast, Shepherd Leadership. Take a listen as he dives into Shepherd Leadership and how everyone should apply this method of leadership!Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co Listen to Shepherd Leadership, here: https://www.nickwestbrookspeaks.com/shepherd-leadership-podcast Cooper Connect is an independent entity and is not affiliated with, associated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Chick-fil-A, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. The name Chick-fil-A, Inc., along with its related names, trademarks, logos, and images, are the registered property of their respective owner. For official information about Chick-fil-A, Inc., please visit their website at https://chick-fil-a.com.

Can Japan solve climate change with $3 million? Why are Japanese companies creating AI Customers? Why aren't any of Japan's Universities in the Global Top 100 for AI?SHOW NOTESJAPANIAEA Upbeat, but Niigata Governor Delays Kashiwazaki-Kariwa RestartSUPPLY CHAIN WARJapan to give $3 mil to help Pacific islands fight climate changeChina's EUV breakthrough: Huawei, SMIC reportedly advancing LDP lithography, eye 3Q25 trial, 2026 rolloutU.S. to levy fees on ships linked to China, push allies to do similar – draft executive orderSOCIETY 5.0　Hitachi uses generative AI to create "AI customers" and generate catchy slogansNissan tests driverless vehicles in city streets filled with cars and peopleJapanese university unveils AI program for medical student trainingJapan research team develops technology to visualize acne-causing bacteria using AIOnce-reluctant builders now using unmanned machinery, AIIbaraki's Tsukuba and Tsuchiura cities to introduce AI into childcare facility admission selection processRelease of Japanese voice platform models "Izanami" and "Kushinada"Trinity, the AI camera company, launches "unlimited SIM plan for security cameras" that does not require an internet connectionAI: The Future of Ibaraki - Part 1: Efficiency (3) Automatic detection of fires and floods, 24-hour non-stop safety monitoringOsaka Metro to start offering "face recognition ticket gate" service from March 25thNEC unveils completely contactless "face recognition payment" to be introduced at the World ExpoWave, an autonomous driving startup backed by SoftBank Group, moves closer to launching commercial services49 Chinese universities in the top 100 for AI, zero in Japan; half of top US researchers are from China'Another DeepSeek moment'? Chinese start-up launches new AI agent, sparking widespread attention

参院本会議に臨む自民党の西田昌司氏、１２日午前、国会内自民党の西田昌司参院議員は１２日、国会内で開かれた党参院議員総会で、２０２５年度予算案の成立後に党総裁選を行い、石破茂首相に代わる新総裁を選出すべきだと主張した。 Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Shoji Nishida said Wednesday that the Japanese ruling party needs a new leader to replace Shigeru Ishiba, the country's prime minister and current LDP president.

Meet a good friend of Cooper Connect, business owner and entrepreneur Nick Philliber. After 10 successful years at Chick-fil-A, Nick and his wife opened a now successful pizza business! You won't want to miss hearing his story of life after Chick-fil-A, and how he applied the things he learned at Chick-fil-A to his business. Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co  Cooper Connect is an independent entity and is not affiliated with, associated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Chick-fil-A, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. The name Chick-fil-A, Inc., along with its related names, trademarks, logos, and images, are the registered property of their respective owner. For official information about Chick-fil-A, Inc., please visit their website at https://chick-fil-a.com.

衆院予算委員会で答弁する石破茂首相、２８日午後、国会内衆院予算委員会は２８日、石破茂首相と関係閣僚が出席し、政治資金問題を主なテーマに集中審議を行った。 Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday that his ruling Liberal Democratic Party has no plan to reopen an investigation into a slush funds scandal involving a now-defunct LDP faction.

Meet Owner/Operator Katie Branch! Katie is the Owner/Operator of Chick-fil-A Pine Bluff in Arkansas. She became an Owner/Operator in 2023 after a successful IT career. She has a heart for mentoring and developing others, as well as giving back to the community she grew up in. This is a large nugget tray full of wisdom, and you will not want to miss what Katie shares about her journey and her advice for young leaders.Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co Cooper Connect is an independent entity and is not affiliated with, associated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Chick-fil-A, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. The name Chick-fil-A, Inc., along with its related names, trademarks, logos, and images, are the registered property of their respective owner. For official information about Chick-fil-A, Inc., please visit their website at https://chick-fil-a.com.

Meet Owner/Operator Tyler Haile! Tyler has two Chick-fil-A locations in the San Antonio, Texas area, Schertz and Cibolo. Tyler has been an Owner/Operator with Chick-fil-A since 2014, and he inspired us so much by discussing purpose and meaning in a career, and we can't wait for you to hear. Take a listen!Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co Cooper Connect is an independent entity and is not affiliated with, associated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Chick-fil-A, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. The name Chick-fil-A, Inc., along with its related names, trademarks, logos, and images, are the registered property of their respective owner. For official information about Chick-fil-A, Inc., please visit their website at https://chick-fil-a.com.

Today we had the opportunity to sit down with Owner/Operator Kevin McDavid! Kevin is the Owner/Operator of two Chick-fil-A locations in King Of Prussia, PA. Take a listen as he talks about merit based raises and promotions, and how he makes weekly adjustments to the business. Kevin has great advise to other business owners on how to grow and lead people. Don't miss his nuggets on running a Chick-fil-A buiness in the north east!Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co Cooper Connect is an independent entity and is not affiliated with, associated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Chick-fil-A, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. The name Chick-fil-A, Inc., along with its related names, trademarks, logos, and images, are the registered property of their respective owner. For official information about Chick-fil-A, Inc., please visit their website at https://chick-fil-a.com.

Take a listen today as we introduce you to Andy Carowan! Andy is the Owner/Operator of Chick-fil-A Whitsett in North Carolina. Andy worked under two different Operators, as well as going through Chick-fil-A's Leadership Development Program, and he has some great insight gained over the years about having grit, poise, and kindness. Don't miss his advice about being authentic and not losing yourself.Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co Cooper Connect is an independent entity and is not affiliated with, associated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Chick-fil-A, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. The name Chick-fil-A, Inc., along with its related names, trademarks, logos, and images, are the registered property of their respective owner. For official information about Chick-fil-A, Inc., please visit their website at https://chick-fil-a.com.

Meet Owner/Operator Eric Zuidema from Chick-fil-A Del Sur in San Diego, CA. Eric kept us laughing the whole episode, and also inspired us with his advise. You won't want to miss his stories of shadows in playgrounds, developing others, and everything in between. We loved Eric's humility and willingness to share his stories of both failures and successes.Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co

We're celebrating National Mentoring Month by highlighting an amazing mentoring opportunity Pasco County provides up and coming leaders in our organization.  It's our Leadership Development Program - or LDP. Special guests: Shaina Smith / Libraries Khalil Abu-jamous / IT

Take a listen to our first episode in 2025, featuring Owner/Operator Josh Sells! Josh is the Owner/Operator of Chick-fil-A Hills and Dales in Lagrange, GA. You will not want to miss his story of overcoming a life going the wrong way to get to where he is now. Josh has taught us anything is possible, and we can't wait for you to hear about not only his professional life, but also his inspiring hobbies!Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co

Take a listen to the third and final installment as our team shares their favorite Chick-fil-A Christmas memories. From serving those in need to fun parties to guest giveaways, listen to all the ways Chick-fil-A Operators make Christmas fun for their teams and their guests. Today features our own David Akin and Virginia Godwin!Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co

Welcome to another episode of The Coral Capital Podcast, a show about startups, technology, and venture capital with a focus on Japan and Asia broadly. Today, we're joined by Richard Katz, NYC correspondent for the Weekly Toyo Keizai and the author of several books, including his latest, “The Contest for Japan's Economic Future: Entrepreneurs vs. Corporate Giants”. In this episode, we'll take a step back to dive into the historical and macroeconomic context of Japan and examine the role of startups in this environment. We'll cover a range of topics including: The healthy and necessary role of firm mortality in economic growth The barriers to entry and exit in Japan Debunking the myth of Japan's risk-averse culture and uncovering the real issues in its risk vs. reward system Insights Japan can gain from french startup policies Japan's strength and history in invention and re-invention How job mobility, women, and the new generation are reshaping the workforce How a change in the LDP's political dominance can open doors for change Richard's book, "The Contest for Japan's Economic Future: Entrepreneurs vs. Corporate Giants," is available for purchase ⁠⁠here⁠⁠, and his Substack, Japan Economy Watch, can be subscribed to ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. ----- For founder's building Japan's next legendary companies, reach out to us here: https://coralcap.co/contact-startups/

Listen up over the next 3 weeks as our team shares their favorite Chick-fil-A Christmas memories. From serving those in need to fun parties to guest giveaways, listen to all the ways Chick-fil-A Operators make Christmas fun for their teams and their guests. Today features our own Tammy Guadagno, Brandi Ponder, and Ashton Quillin!Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co

On today's episode Jake looks at amendments to NCGS 20-179.3 which allows a person convicted of a level 2 DWI to apply for a limited driving privilege if certain conditions are met. Given that the biggest consequence that many people charged with DWI face is a loss of driver's license and driving privileges, this episode has huge implications for the DWI practitioner.   Highlights:   ·       Discover the requirements under 20-179.3 that a level 2 DWI offender must meet in order to request an LDP. ·       Learn why the number of interlock violations sent to the DMV and subsequent hearings is about to skyrocket. ·       Uncover the new process for drivers facing an ignition interlock violation in the final 90 days of their privilege. ·       Determine which convictions under 20-141.4 will now require an ignition interlock upon license restoration.

Hello all you Ed-Heads, and timbos. We're back from our holiday break, and here with one of the stupidest horror movies in ages, Bats. Join us as we give our respects to LDP, and try and decipher the incomprehensible plot of this movie. Go listen to Matt on The Might Peculiar, and check out his tweeter at https://x.com/mattbegins Check us out on Twitter. me ⁠@eddietheaxe⁠ Tim ⁠@yobogold⁠  Also, like, rate, and subscribe. And if you can join our Patreon. Get access to our video episodes, as well as the Bloodbank at ⁠https://www.patreon.com/bloodybits

Today's Remarkable Guest is Chick-fil-A Executive Director and founder of Operators Solution Hub, Mark Watkins. Mark found a second career with Chick-fil-A six years ago and has used that to grow his business being a resource to Chick-fil-A Operators. Listen up as Mark talks about his idea of Chick-fil-A Archetypes and how we can apply that to hiring.Learn more about Operator Solutions Hub, here: https://operatorsolutionshub.com/ Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co

Today's Remarkable Guest is Stanley Webster. Stanley is the Owner/Operator of Chick-fil-A Cienega Triangle in Los Angeles, California. Stanley has been with Chick-fil-A since he was 15 years old getting a job to help his mom pay bills. You will not want to miss hearing about Stanley's dedication not only to Chick-fil-A, but also to his family and friends.Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co

Today's Remarkable guest is Owner/Operator Kevin Lopez! Kevin is the Owner/Operator of Chick-fil-A Penrose in Philadelphia, PA. After working for the NFL, teaching, and finally corporate America, Kevin decided to pursue Chick-fil-A! You won't want to miss his advice on how to be bold at work, as well as hear how he is able to love on his team and his community.Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co

In a week in which most eyes are on the US election, there are other meaningful elections which also merit close examination. On October 27 Japanese voters expressed their pent-up frustration with the growing list of scandals associated with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and ended the party's near 70-year long rule. LDP and their partner Komeito failed to reach a majority in the lower house of the Diet, earning just 215 seats out of 465. With most of the other ascendent parties refusing to enter into coalitions with LDP, the new Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru faces serious vulnerabilities to his agenda, and for the first time in decades, a new level of uncertainty has been introduced to Washington's top ally in Northeast Asia. The reality, however, is altogether much more subtle in terms of what Japanese voters are saying. This week we welcome back Tobias Harris, who is the founder of political risk advisory firm Japan Foresight and the author of the Observing Japan substack. Tobias last appeared on Departures in 2020 to discuss his excellent book, "The Iconoclast: Shinzo Abe and the New Japan."

On this week's Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, sponsored in part by Hanwha Defense USA, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Michael Herson of American Defense International, former Pentagon Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security, and former Pentagon comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim of the Center for Strategic and International Studies join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the neck-and-neck US presidential race with days to go until the election; growing concern that Russia has turned the tables on Ukraine with 8,000 North Korea soldiers to help push Ukrainian forces from Kursk as the West runs out of weapons and interest in the war; Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's snap election backfires as the LDP loses ground; China's publicly announces its first ICBM test in four decades as message to Washington that Beijing can reach US soil with its new DF-41 missile; North Korea also tested a long-range missile; Australia says it will improve its missile defenses; Israel attacks Iran's air defenses and strikes its missile and drone industries as the war continues; and the LA Dodgers rout the NY Yankees in five games to win their eight World Series.

Today we are excited to introduce you to a close friend of the Cooper family, Owner Operator Michael Gonzales. Michael is the Owner Operator of Chick-fil-A Mile of Cars in San Diego, and will soon have a second location, Chula Vista West, as of November 2024. We loved hearing about his journey from door to door sales to Chick-fil-A, and how quickly he rose from team member to Owner Operator. You will need to take notes to record the resources he shares along the way!Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co

Stjórnmál í Japan eftir þingkosningar um síðustu helgi voru til umræðu í Heimsglugganum í Morgunvaktinni á Rás 1. Bogi Ágústsson ræddi við Kristínu Ingvarsdóttur, lektor í japönskum fræðum við Háskóla Íslands. Þingkosningar á sunnudag sættu talsverðum tíðindum. Frjálslyndi lýðræðisflokkurinn, LDP, sem hefur farið með stjórn í Japan nánast óslitið í nærri 70 ár, beið afhroð. Flokkurinn tapaði 64 þingsætum, það eru 465 fulltrúar í neðri deild japanska þingsins. Það vakti líka athygli að fleiri konur voru kjörnar á þing en þær eru samt aðeins 16 prósent þingmanna, eða 73 talsins. Shigeru Ishiba forsætisráðherra Japans rauf þing í byrjun mánaðar og boðaði til kosninga aðeins mánuði eftir að hann var kjörinn forsætisráðherra. Þetta var meðal þess sem Kristín og Bogi ræddu. Kristín bjó í Japan í átta ár og fylgist náið með þróun mála þar í landi. Í lokin var rætt um hættur sem steðja að lýðræði.

Donald Trump's team distances itself from racist rhetoric used at a rally in New York. Israel bans UNRWA. Japan gets a jolt as the ruling LDP party loses its majority for the first time in fifteen years. And, Shohei Ohtani shrugs off injury at the World Series and is set to start for the Dodgers against the New York Yankees. All that and much more with Julia Chatterley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Struggling German car giant Volkswagen is planning to shut 3 factories in Germany according to the IGMetall Trade Union. We examine the problems facing the European car industry.Georgia's elections were won by the ruling Georgian Dream party but opposition parties claim the election was stolen.Also, Japanese voters have given the ruling LDP a bloody nose in Sunday's General Election. We speak to a leading Japanese economist about what happens now, now that no party has a parliamentary majority. You can contact us on WhatsApp or send us a voicenote: +44 330 678 3033. We would love to hear from you!

S&P futures are pointing to a higher open today, up +0.48%. Asian markets finished Monday trading mostly higher, with Japan outperforming following its national election results, while European markets also firmer in early trades. For today's highlight, Japan's equity markets rose sharply despite political uncertainties following the LDP's election defeat. The market responded positively to the expectation that the LDP will need to collaborate with minority parties, some of which favor aggressive growth policies. Companies Mentioned: Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Amedisys, United Health, Douglas Elliman, Boeing

Today's Remarkable guest is Owner/Operator Jeremy Tatman! Jeremy is the Owner/Operator of the Chick-fil-A Davenport in Iowa. Jeremy began his Chick-fil-A career at 14 years old and became a Chick-fil-A franchisee in 2006. In 2018, Jeremy founded a non-profit, Lives of Legacy. You can learn more about Lives of Legacy, here: https://livesoflegacy.com/. Take a listen as Jeremy talks about developing people in and out of the workplace, and how he is able to love on people within his community.Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co

Today's Remarkable Person is Owner Operator David Jacobi. David is the Owner/Operator of Northshore Town Center in Knoxville, TN. Prior to that, he was the Owner/Operator of the Chick-fil-A in Ardmore, OK. You won't want to miss his positive personality, things he's doing to make a difference, and how he puts people over profits.Learn more about Cooper Connect, here: www.cooperconnect.co

Welcome to The BetterLife Podcast! Our names are Brandon Turner and Cam Cathcart and we teach people how to BUILD WEALTH WITHOUT LOSING THEIR SOUL through real estate investing!So if you like what we're putting out, please do us a favor by:subscribing to the showleaving us a ratingsending this episode to a friend==========

Fight the power! The first power, that is. Yes folks, it's a film about Lou Diamond Phillips fighting a body-hopping demon... sort of? Nathan and Brendan try to wrap their minds around The First Power starring LDP in a ridiculous jacket and featuring the least organized stakeout in movie police history, people just barging into homes without reason, a horse outrunning a car, an amazing fight scene involving a bag lady and much more. Next week: an ill-advised sequel. What We've Been Watching: Wicked Little Letters Immaculate Patreon: www.patreon.com/wwttpodcast Facebook: www.facebook.com/wwttpodcast Twitter: www.twitter.com/wwttpodcast Instagram: www.instagram.com/wwttpodcast Theme Song recorded by Taylor Sheasgreen: www.facebook.com/themotorleague Logo designed by Mariah Lirette: www.instagram.com/its.mariah.xo Montrose Monkington III: www.twitter.com/montrosethe3rd The First Power stars Lou Diamond Phillips, Tracy Griffith, Jeff Kober, Dennis Lipscomb and Mykelti Williamson; directed by Robert Resnikoff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spooky season finally kicks off with a discussion about the Scream knockoff starring Alicia Witt and Jared Leto. Yes, it's Urban Legend... a movie that asks: how much can we rip off from another movie without being sued for plaigarism? The guys talk about the killer reveal that makes no sense, the urban legends that were clearly created solely for the film, campus radio rules, Brad Dourif's tragic character arc and much more. Next week: LDP gives us the heebie-jeebies. What We've Been Watching: Speak No Evil (2024) Alien: Romulus Patreon: www.patreon.com/wwttpodcast Facebook: www.facebook.com/wwttpodcast Twitter: www.twitter.com/wwttpodcast Instagram: www.instagram.com/wwttpodcast Theme Song recorded by Taylor Sheasgreen: www.facebook.com/themotorleague Logo designed by Mariah Lirette: www.instagram.com/its.mariah.xo Montrose Monkington III: www.twitter.com/montrosethe3rd Urban Legend stars Alicia Witt, Jared Leto, Rebecca Gayheart, Joshua Jackson, Michael Rosenbaum, Tara Reid, Loretta Devine, Danielle Harris, John Neville, Robert Englund and Brad Dourif; directed by Jamie Blanks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bank of Japan jolted global markets after its recent decision to raise interest rates. Our experts break down the effects the move could have on the country's economy, currency and stock market.----- Transcript -----Chetan Ahya: Welcome to Thoughts on the Market. I'm Chetan Ahya, Morgan Stanley's Chief Asia Economist.Daniel Blake: And I'm Daniel Blake, from the Asia Pacific and Emerging Market Equity Strategy Team.Chetan Ahya: On this episode of the podcast, we will cover a topic that has been a big concern for global investors: Japan's rate hike and its effect on markets.It's Thursday, August 22nd at 6pm in Hong Kong.On July 31st, Japan's central bank made a bold move. For only the second time in 17 years, it raised interest rates. It lifted its benchmark rates to around 0.25 percent from its previous range of 0 to 0.1 percent. And at the press conference, BOJ Governor Ueda struck a more hawkish tone on the BOJ rate path than markets anticipated. Compounded with investors concern about US growth, this move jolted global equity markets and bond markets. The Japan equity market entered the quickest bear market in history. It lost 20 percent over three days.Well, a lot has happened since early August. So, I'm here with Daniel to give you an update.Daniel Blake: Chetan, before I can give you an update on what the market implications are of all this, let's make sense of what the macro-outlook is for Japan and what the Bank of Japan is really looking to achieve.I know that following that July monetary policy meeting, we heard from Deputy Governor Uchida san, who said that the bank would not raise its policy rates while financial and capital markets remain unstable.What is your view on the Bank of Japan policy outlook and the key macro-outlook for Japan more broadly?Chetan Ahya: Well, firstly, I think the governor's comments in the July policy meeting were more hawkish than expected and after the market's volatility, deputy governor did come out and explain the BOJ's thought process more clearly. The most important point explained there was that they will not hike policy rates in an environment where markets are volatile -- and that has given the comfort to market that BOJ will not be taking up successive rate hikes in an early manner.But ultimately when you're thinking about the outlook of BOJ's policy path, it will be determined by what happens to underlying wage growth and inflation trend. And on that front, wage growth has been accelerating. And we also think that inflation will be remaining at a moderate level and that will keep BOJ on the rate hike path, but those rate hikes will be taken up in a measured manner.In our base case, we are expecting the BOJ to hike by 25 basis points in January policy meeting next year, with a risk that they could possibly hike early in December of this year.Daniel Blake: And after an extended period of weakness, the Japanese yen appreciated sharply after the remarks. What drove this and what are the macro repercussions for the broader outlook?Chetan Ahya: We think that the US growth scare from the weaker July nonfarm payroll data, alongside a hawkish BOJ Governor Ueda's comments, led markets to begin pricing in more policy rate convergence between the US and Japan. This resulted in unwinding of the yen carry trade and a rapid appreciation of yen against the dollar.For now, our strategists believe that the near-term risk of further yen carry trade unwinding has lessened. We will closely watch the incoming US growth and labor market data for signs of the US slowdown and its impact on the yen. In the base case, our US Economics team continues to see a soft landing in the US and for the Fed to cut rates by three times this year from September, reaching a terminal of 3.625 by June 2025.Based on our US and BOJ rate path, our macro strategists see USD/JPY at 146 by year end. As it stands, our Japan inflation forecast already incorporates these yen forecasts, but if yen does appreciate beyond these levels on a sustainable basis, this would impart some further downside to our inflation forecast.Daniel Blake: And there's another key event to consider. Prime Minister Kishida san announced on August 14th that he will not seek re-election as President of The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in late September, and hence will have a new leader of Japan. Will this development have any impact on economic policy or the markets in your view?Chetan Ahya: The number of potential candidates means it's too early to tell. We think a major reversal in macro policies will be unlikely, though the timing of elections will likely have a bearing on BOJ.For example, after the September party leadership election, the new premier could then call for an early election in October; and in this scenario, we think likelihood of a BOJ move at its September and October policy meeting would be further diminished.So, Daniel, keeping in mind the macro backdrop that we just discussed, how are you interpreting the recent equity market volatility? And what do you expect for the rest of 2024 and into 2025?Daniel Blake: We do see that volatility in Japan, as extreme as it was, being primarily technically driven. It does reflect some crowding of various investor types into pockets of the equity market and levered strategies, as we see come through with high frequency trading, as well as carry trades that were exacerbated by dollar yen positions being unwound very quickly.But with the market resetting, and as we look into the rest of 2024 and 2025, we see the two key engines of nominal GDP reflation in Japan and corporate reform still firing. As you lay out, the BOJ is trying to find its way back towards neutral; it's not trying to end the cycle. And corporate governance is driving better capital allocation from the corporate sector.As a result, we see almost 10 percent earnings growth this year and next year, and the market stands cheap versus its historical valuation ranges.So, as we look ahead, we think into 2025, we should see the Japanese equity benchmark, the TOPIX index, setting fresh all-time highs. As a result, we continue to prefer Japan equities versus emerging markets. And we recommend that US dollar-based investors leave their foreign exchange exposure unhedged, which will position them to benefit from further strengthening in the Japanese yen.Chetan Ahya: So, which parts of the market look most attractive following the BOJ's rate hike and market disruptions to you?Daniel Blake: Yes, we do prefer domestic exposures relative to exporters. They'll be better protected from any further strengthening in the Japanese yen, and we also see a broad-based corporate governance reform agenda supporting shareholder returns coming out of these domestic sectors. They'll benefit from that stronger, price and wage outlook with an improved margin outlook.And we also see that capex beneficiaries with a corporate reform angle are likely to do well in this overall agenda of pursuing greater economic security and digitalization. So that includes key sectors like defense, real estate, and construction.And Chetan, what would you say are the key risks to your view?Chetan Ahya: We think the key risk would be if the US faces a deeper slowdown or an outright recession. While Japan is better placed today than in the past cycles, it would nonetheless be a setback for Japan's economy. In this scenario, Japan's export growth would face downward pressures given weakening external demand.The Japanese corporate sector has also around 17 percent of its revenue coming from North America. Besides a deeper Fed rate cut cycle, will mean that the policy rate differentials between the US and Japan will narrow significantly. This will pose further appreciation pressures on the yen, which will weigh on inflation, corporate profits, and the growth outlook.And from your perspective, Daniel, what should investors watch closely?Daniel Blake: We would agree that the first order risk for Japan equities is if the US slips into a hard landing, and we do see that the dollar yen in that outlook is likely to fall even further. Now we shouldn't see any FX (foreign exchange) driven downgrades until we start bringing the yen down below 140, but we would also see the operating environment turning negative for Japan in that outlook.So, putting that aside, given our house view of the soft landing in the US economy, we think the second thing investors should watch is certainly the LDP leadership election contest, and the reform agenda of the incoming cabinet.Prime Minister Kishida san's tenure has been focused on economic security and has fostered further corporate governance reform alongside the Japan Stock Exchange. And this emphasis on getting household savings into investment has been another key pillar of the new capitalism strategy. So, these focus areas have been very positive for Japan equities, and we should trust -- but verify -- the commitment of a new leadership team to these policy initiatives.Chetan Ahya: Daniel, it was great to hear your perspective. This is an evolving story. We'll keep our eye on it. Thanks for taking the time to talk.Daniel Blake: Great speaking with you, Chetan.Chetan Ahya: And thanks for listening. If you enjoy Thoughts on the Market, please leave us a review wherever you listen and share the podcast with a friend or a colleague today.

On the final episode of the Revised Introduction to Japanese History: the LDP completely fails to meet the challenge of the bubble collapse, and the Lost Decades see Japan's economy stagnate and its political and social system under severe pressure. Where to from here? Only time will tell. Show notes here. 

This week on the Revised Introduction to Japanese History: how did Ikeda Hayato and the LDP build a system that would redefine postwar Japan? And how did the political opposition utterly fail to rise to the challenge of matching them? Show notes here.