LONDON  —  Companies have long had to manage “key person risk”, even taking out insurance against the possibility of losing top executives through death, illness, or injury.

LONDON  —  When a “shock” or “extremist” election result comes with record-low voter turnout and a big yawn from financial markets, it is time to find new descriptors.

LONDON  —  Former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzō’s assassination at an election campaign event in Nara, Japan, is both shocking and puzzling.

LONDON — Having been postponed from 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tokyo Olympic Games are approaching their opening on July 23 amid a chorus of doom.

LONDON — When will the world have vaccinated 80 per cent of all adults, the level presumed by scientists to produce herd immunity against COVID-19? Most people’s answer is 2023 or 2024, which suggests deep pessimism about the progress of vaccinations outside the rich world.

LONDON — In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was common to divide countries and their responses according to their political systems, with many attributing China’s success in controlling the virus to its authoritarianism.

DUBLIN — Japan’s new prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, has arrived with a suite of ambitious policy ideas, including plans to digitise government services and revive the country’s regional banks.

DUBLIN — Japan’s new prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, has arrived with a suite of ambitious policy ideas, including plans to digitise government services and revive the country’s regional banks.

DUBLIN — Shinzo Abe’s sudden resignation (on health grounds) ends the tenure of Japan’s longest-serving prime minister.