The Japanese press today announced that Tokyo and Taipei had reached an accord on fishing rights around the disputed Senkaku Islands. This marks a significant step forward in reducing tensions around the uninhabited islands, while also posing a challenge to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and its position. According …
Today, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that Japan will officially join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This comes a day after Prime Minister Abe received the okay to join TPP by his Liberal Democratic Party, a month after visiting President Obama and discussing the partnership, and more than a year since …
Following a statement by the World Health Organization on the low predictive rate for cancer in Fukushima, Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was quoted Thursday pledging his goal to restart Japan’s inactive nuclear power plants. This move, together with a renewed push to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), shows Abe’s …
Japanese gross domestic product (GDP) fell for the third straight quarter (October–December) and was essentially flat for 2012 as a whole. This continues two decades of stagnation in annual output—Japan’s annual GDP in 2012 is essentially the same as 20 years ago. Stagnation is part of what motivated new Prime …
Park Geun-hye achieved a historic victory in South Korea, becoming the first woman president in the country’s history. Park is a member of Korea’s National Assembly and leader of the conservative Saenuri Party, as well as the daughter of previous President Park Chung-hee. Many first came to know her dignified …
Japan’s incoming prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has an unenviable task. While Mr. Abe may prove to be exactly what the country needs in terms of foreign policy, his economic promises mirror the policies that have mired Japan in two decades of stagnation. Mr. Abe has made headlines promising more aggressive …
