Philippine President Beningo Aquino III and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who just returned from a week of high-level dialogues at the U.N. headquarters in New York, met in Tokyo September 27 to discuss how they can strengthen their strategic partnership. Noda and Aquino’s dialogue focused on bolstering their maritime cooperation—specifically, securing freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. At a joint press conference Tuesday evening, Noda expressed a strong desire “to work together in ensuring stability and prosperity in the region” and called attention to the fact that …
Recently elected Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is scheduled to attend the U.N. General Assembly dialogues in New York this week. Noda will be the fourth Japanese prime minister in four consecutive years to attend the conference. A new prime minister has attended the dialogues every year since 2008, due to the high turnover rate of executive leaders in Japan. Although the primary purpose of Noda’s visit is to participate in the U.N. dialogues, Noda’s agenda also includes a separate meeting with President Obama, where they will have a chance …
The devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan earlier this year did more than destroy the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people in northeastern Japan. The March natural disaster significantly impacted the life of one man in particular: Naoto Kan, former prime minister of Japan. Due to the lack of leadership and initiative taken by the Japanese government in dealing with the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake, tsunami, and radiation leaks, the Japanese public became increasingly disgruntled and distrustful of the Kan administration. Public approval ratings began to plummet, …
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam, on July 22 to participate in Asia’s largest security conference. This past week’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum (ARF) and the 43rd ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers Meeting was filled with diplomatic discussions on how to create a safer and more economically efficient East Asian community. At the ASEAN Plus and ARF dialogues, Clinton participated in several discussions, including ones on North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, their recent attack on a South Korean Naval Ship, Burma’s upcoming political elections and …
Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, current Chairman of ASEAN, has returned from the G-20 summit in Toronto, just in time to host the upcoming 43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministerial Meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam. Dung has proven himself to be more of an active leader than prior ASEAN chairmen. This past year has been marked by a push for new projects such as the ASEAN Customs National Single Window Initiative, TPP agreements, and a call to meet the goal for regional integration by 2015. At the end …
