Tag Archives: Japan

The 2022 Upper House election will now remain under the shadow of one of the most disturbing events in Japan’s modern political history.

Japan is filling the vacuum created by the U.S.’s withdrawal from the region.

The latest salvo of insults and threats between President Trump and North Korea's Kim brought the region a little bit closer to war. China, North Korea's closest trading partner, may be the only way out.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s decision to travel to Russia in spite of US warnings, and to propose a new level of economic cooperation, may prove to be an important step in pursuing a stronger long-term relationship with Russia.

If China does experience a hard landing, it will take years to correct the underlying structural causes and restore China’s economic reputation.

Anyone who follows the politics of Northeast Asia must be wondering whether things may finally be about to change for the better. Not only have the leaders of the region’s big three — China, Japan and South Korea — recently held much delayed talks, but the presidents of China and Taiwan have finally had a face-to-face meeting as well. Does …

Saudi Arabia can wait out the competition. Just as they have kept their crude oil production levels intact, it is possible that the Saudis will maintain their current refining output in spite of falling refining margins and eventually end up winning the price war against Asian producers.

Japan, along with the rest of Asia, must seize anew the opportunity to join in shaping the future of the regional architecture. During the lost decades, Japan’s Achilles heel was its inability to see the bigger picture. Japan must now ‘think big’ and engage multilaterally for the Asian regional order.

The Australian government’s efforts to pursue a submarine deal with Japan must be understood in the context of its view of Asia’s security order. The relationship with Japan is a bellwether of how the Australian government views the future of the Asia Pacific region, and particularly the challenges posed by China’s rise. The submarine negotiations have been a tangible way for Australia to strengthen its security ties with Japan as a hedge against potential threats emanating from a more powerful China.

Unless Japan can devise policy strategies either to arrest the decline of its population or deal effectively with its impacts, in the long run the country will find its path to sustained economic growth blocked.