The Monday Read

More like the August Read, amirite?

Hi friends

Did you miss me? I must admit I have really enjoyed the change of pace during August. How was your summer?

Can’t believe it is September already.

You may have noticed a change to the Monday Read this year. Previously I wrote the post on Sunday (sometimes on Saturday) in order to make the deadline for the weekly newsletter on Monday morning. However, this meant that I was stressing about writing the post when I could have been spending time with my family instead.

So the new timing will be that the Monday Read is written on Monday and published to the blog and Facebook. It will then go out in the following week’s email on Monday morning. The content isn’t really time-sensitive, so this shouldn’t really make too much of a difference for anyone.

I beg your kind understanding/よろしくお願いします

Hopefully the heat is largely done for this year. Work starts up again soon.

I’m now 42! Eeek.

Here are last month’s links:

1. Where to find yield? The Home of Ultra-Low Rates Has a Warning for the World
2. Food for thought: why are Japanese companies so cheap?
3. I like the idea of teaching holistically, ie through projects instead of by subject. Pivoting the education matrix
4. I hope Japan hurries these up a bit: The future of Japan’s energy and environmental policies
5. I don’t like Softbank’s service, but the company is interesting: Masayoshi Son blasts critics who ‘don’t understand’ AI’s potential
6. It seems fewer than 1% of people in Japan have an iDeCo account: 本日の日経一面記事、700万人待望のiDeCo加入規制緩和か 実現性はいかに
7. This is very Derek Sivers (I’m a fan!): My old clothes don’t fit
8. Flip those numbers, save the world: Just 10% of fossil fuel subsidy cash ‘could pay for green transition’
9. Excellent. I got rid of my fossil fuel stocks last year: BlackRock lost $90bn investing in fossil fuel companies, report finds
10. Once you figure this out, life becomes much easier: Living in surplus
11. Japan seems to be ahead of the curve on this one: Could wooden buildings be a solution to climate change?
12. I need to do more of this: Hanging Out is Essential To Our Health
13. Food for thought: The Tyranny of Convenience
14. I like #3: Universal Laws of the World
15. Scary stuff: Nightmare 2040: Japan’s lost generation
16. This is actually a good idea. Many money problems are likely psychological: Money problems? Perhaps financial therapy is for you
17. Unless you are very lucky or have inside information, you might be better off just buying the index: Winner-Take-All Phenomenon Rules the Stock Market, Too
18. Mainly about J-REITs: IF YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST SELL, PLEASE GIVE ME A CALL
19. Amazing how much less tax you pay if your income falls: 収入が少なくなると税金はどれぐらい少なくなるか
20. Interesting essay by Nassim Taleb: The Most Intolerant Wins: The Dictatorship of the Small Minority
21. Silver lining? (if you have money to invest) What Investors Need To Know About Brexit Now
22. Just enough snark to make it interesting: Early Retirement: Where to Live?
23. How to deal with bad days: Working up the ladder
24. The only way to win is not to play: The never-ending ratchet of conspicuous consumption
25. Especially if you can find something you enjoy: Embarking on a 2nd career post-retirement makes economic sense
26. Bonds have done rather well: An Appreciation for the Bull Market in Long-Term Bonds
27. There are many: The Laws of Investing
28. This is very good: TL;DR: The Best Finance Books in One Sentence
29. Yes. Reduce friction
30. Not for me, but interesting: How to invest as an expat
31. Maybe this is why we don’t get many views here at RetireJapan: Why Complexity Sells
32. This is great. Will be picking up a copy: Alchemy
33. Easy to overlook: How to Make a Thousand Bucks an Hour
34. I’d love to see a decent market decline for the next decade or so: Make it stop
35. Now the elections are over the truth comes out: Estimates cast doubt over Japan’s public pension sustainability
36. Current thinking on AI: BOOK REVIEW: REFRAMING SUPERINTELLIGENCE
37. I’ve stopped noticing this, but it doesn’t make the problem any less serious: Japan’s Problem with Noise Pollution
38. My life has got better each decade so far: How I think about aging
39. Seems reasonable: You Better Love This
40. This made a lot of sense: A game of giants
41. Number 5 was spot on: The days are long but the decades are short
42. I’m a driver and a cyclist, and the police do too little to deter idiots on both sides: Media Mix, Sept. 1, 2019
43. This is just tacky: Government to launch smartphone-based rewards program using My Number ID cards
44. Really interesting video series on homelessness in Japan.

Forum links/discussions

1. Car owning expenses.
2. Timing the market.
3. Amendment to make NISA permanent.
4. Psychology of buying a house.
5. Receive nenkin with less than 120 months of contributions.
6. How Japanese bank cards work.
7. Supplementary health insurance.

Books

1. Master Jiu-jitsu, Master Life, by Paul Kindzia. This is pretty good so far. Kind of preaching to the converted though 🙂
2. Conspiracy, by Ryan Holiday. This is a fascinating write-up of Peter Thiel’s successful vendetta against Gawker, using Hulk Hogan’s sex tape to deliver the killing blow.
3. Oathbringer, by Brandon Sanderson. Book three in a projected ten-book fantasy series. Getting a bit complex now.
4. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card. Reread this fun sci-fi book.