Welcome to the
website of Bill Emmott
I am a writer and consultant best known for my 13 years as editor-in-chief of The Economist (1993-2006) as well as for my books and films on Japan and Italy. My latest book, ‘Japan’s Far More Female Future’ was published in Japanese in summer 2019 and was published in an expanded English edition in September 2020. The book analyses the economic impact of the growing number of females in higher education in Japan. ( see Japan Forward Book Review). These days, I am a “Brexile” living in Ireland, though I also spend time in Oxford, and am chairman of the Wake Up Foundation, a charity I co-founded with the film-maker Annalisa Piras, as well as of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Japan Society of the UK, and Trinity College Dublin’s Long Room Hub Arts & Humanities Research Institute. This site carries my articles, videos, speeches and books, as well as my 2050 Index looking at the long-term strengths and prospects of western societies.
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‘Japan Forward’ Book Review: ‘Japan’s Far More Female Future’
27.11.20
~Women in Japan are sometimes regarded as having a lower social status than men. They also face limited professional opportunities. Yet a compelling new book...
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Japan Society Chairman’s Blog – 23
08.11.20
So how was it for you? No prizes for guessing to what I am referring. Obviously, it was pretty good in the end for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, less so for...
Read moreReflections on the US Election
08.11.20 Publication: AVANTI
After all the arguments about Russian interference in 2016, the US presidential and congressional elections of 2020 feel like a rather majestic democratic...
Read moreWill the Trump Years be a Blip?
07.11.20 Publication: Mainichi
Throughout Donald Trump’s occupancy of the White House since January 2017 I have had in my mind comparisons with the previous billionaire, narcissistic...
Read moreThe 2050 Index
In too many countries, politics and policy making is addicted to the short term. To help foster the longer-term thinking we all need, in 2017 I worked out this index, together with James Fransham of The Economist, which ranks 35 advanced western countries according to 25 different measures, grouped under the themes of demography, knowledge, innovation, globalization and resilience. I will be publishing an updated version in 2019.
See the 2050 IndexLatest Film: Lecture at University of Tokyo, May 15th 2019
Latest Book
Japan’s Far More Female Future
Until now, Japan’s politics, economy and society have been dominated by men. The future promises to be different, as demographic realities and the growing number of women graduating from higher education since the early 1990s steadily change organisational structures and culture. How well the country adapts to this will determine whether in the 2020s, 30s […]
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