Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is nosediving in the polls, its gaffe-prone prime minister Taro Aso has acquired a reputation as his party’s funeral director, and a pivotal election may transform the Japanese political landscape before September. Particularly at stake is the country’s military and foreign policy. Currently, Japan is caught between its “peace… Continue reading Aiming for Middle Power Status
Nearly 70 years after the Games began again in the modern era, the Olympics finally took place somewhere outside the West. It was 1964, and the host country was Japan. The Tokyo Olympics were an opportunity for Japan to erase the stain of history. It had been tapped to host the 1940 Olympics, but its… Continue reading Asia’s Olympics Debs
With the Six Party Talks to denuclearise North Korea once again on the ropes and the world reeling from a deepening financial crisis, the United States is looking to China for help. The Pentagon still views China as a rising and potentially threatening military power. But the State Department has been relying on China’s mediating… Continue reading US/China: Rivals, Partners in Asia
After more than 15 years in the drafting, Burma unveiled its new constitution in February. The 194-page document has generated a widely disparate response. In May, just days after Tropical Cyclone Nargis hit Burma and killed tens of thousands Burmese, the military government reported that 92 percent of the population supported the new constitution in… Continue reading Burma’s New Constitution: Radical Change or Fig Leaf
Northeast Asia is a relatively peaceful place. Although the Cold War still divides the Korean peninsula and the Taiwan Straits, there are no hot conflicts in the region. Negotiators in the Six Party Talks are attempting to solve the major security issues of the region through diplomatic means. But at another level, wars are being… Continue reading East Asia: History Wars
Northeast Asia heaved a sigh of relief at the latest news of a breakthrough in the nuclear negotiations with North Korea. The prospects of integrating North Korea into the international community and constructing a peace and security structure for the region have never been rosier. But the headlines of the United States and North Korea… Continue reading Talking Peace, Preparing for War
The seas both divide and unite Japan and the United States. Caught between countering threat and promoting maritime cooperation, the two countries have worked together to build regional approaches to terrorism and piracy. At the same time, however, they have pursued less inclusive strategies such as a missile defence system, joint military operations in Iraq… Continue reading The Pacific and Not-So-Pacific Oceans
There hasn’t been a war in Northeast Asia for over 50 years. The countries in the region are not only making headway in talks with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program, they’re also talking about creating a permanent peace structure in the region. Compared to the Middle East or much of Africa, it’s a… Continue reading Asian Armageddon?
Read all about it! Diplomats remain upbeat about solving the nuclear stand-off with North Korea; optimists envision a peace treaty to replace the armistice that halted, but failed to formally end, the Korean War 55 years ago. Some leaders and scholars are even urging the transformation of the Six Party Talks over the Korean nuclear… Continue reading Asia’s Hidden Arms Race
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has ruled Japan for all but one of the last 53 years. But the LDP’s unpopularity, the rise of a strong second party with a charismatic leader and a limp economy may combine to upend Japanese politics in 2008. At its party congress on Jan. 17, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda,… Continue reading Tectonic Upheavals Await Ruling LDP
When the world’s two most populous countries held a summit this month in Beijing, their agenda was brimful with collaboration. India and China, once adversaries that fought a war in 1962, are now leading trading partners. But, while they see eye to eye on several key geopolitical issues such as Iran and have even conducted… Continue reading Eyeing Burma
Japan was not the first country to realize the strategic importance of Central Asia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it took Tokyo three years to open embassies in the region. Several more years passed before Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto inaugurated a new “Silk Road” diplomacy. Today, however, Japan has engaged the five… Continue reading After Slow Start, Japan Engages Central Asia
This year the Association of Southeast Asian Nations celebrates its 40th birthday, and it has big plans. After four decades of being largely a political and security alliance, ASEAN is accelerating its plans for economic integration. The ASEAN leaders are so eager to pull together into an economic community that they recently decided to move… Continue reading South-East Asia: Democratic Deficit Growing
People power does not just trouble the sleep of dictators. It can also introduce an element of unpredictability and uncertainty into the security debate in pluralist societies. People, to put it bluntly, can be a problem for the military because civilians frequently come between a military and its objectives. “In the short term, making governments… Continue reading People Power vs. Military Power in East Asia
At the center of East Asia lies the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the Korean peninsula. The DMZ has been called the most dangerous place on earth. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers face one another across this divide. And yet, the DMZ is also the lifeline between North and South Korea. It connects the two countries… Continue reading The Paradox of East Asian Peace
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the ending of martial law in Taiwan. But don’t expect any major global celebrations of Taiwanese democracy. For all the vibrancy of Taiwanese politics and the high performance of Taiwan’s economy, the island is something of an embarrassment to the international community. Taiwan looks like a state. It… Continue reading The Taiwan that Roared
The Mekong River–which translates to the “mother of all rivers”–starts in the mountains of Tibet, flows through China’s Yunnan province and then into Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It’s an extraordinary region, home to 250 million people and some of the most dynamic and troubling developments in the world. In the vivid new… Continue reading Covering the Mekong
Racism versus Sexism in Japan John Feffer All the business journals are talking about the revival of the Japanese economy. For the last four years, the economy has been steadily growing. Toyota is hiring, consumers are spending, and the government of Junichiro Koizumi is consequently enjoying high approval ratings. Japan’s economic renaissance is… Continue reading Racism vs Sexism in Japan
Inter Press Service, November 8, 2006
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, August 6, 2006
The transatlantic brawl between the United States and Europe over genetically modified (GM) food is attracting much of the media’s interest. Billions of dollars in sales, the genetic fate of food crops, and the future safety of human beings hinge on this debate between skeptical Europeans and American technophiles. But it is in Asia that… Continue reading Asia Holds the Key to the Future of GM Food
Taiwan and South Korea share a good deal in common. They both suffered under Japanese colonialism. They both built prosperous economies within the space of only a couple generations. They are both relatively new to democracy, having shrugged off authoritarian dictatorships within the last 15 years. They rely on U.S. weapons and military guarantees. And… Continue reading No Politics as Usual in East Asia
“Push and Pull: East Asian Regional Security” Advocacy Days presentation, March 6, 2004 The current crisis over North Korea’s nuclear program takes place within a regional security context with an important push factor (U.S. military policy toward the region) and an equally important pull factor (a “revolution in Asian military affairs”). The… Continue reading Push and Pull: East Asian Regional Security
ZNet, February 16, 2004
Peacework, October 1999 with Karin Lee