Sol W. Sanders The Obama Administration’s foreign policy begins to look like that tightly wound ball of crocheting thread which the kitten has been playing with for several hours and is now finally completely unraveling. How innocent the kitty is may be a question in the eye of the beholder. But the disarray is […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — While final exams and the end of the semester are fast approaching for students across America, there’s an early report card which was just delivered with grades for math, reading, and science. Regrettably students in the United States don’t rate terribly well against their global peers, especially those in […]
Sol W. Sanders In a world of moldering journalism, nothing quite equals the inadequacies of the reporting about Japan. Despite this short shrift, Japan remains the U.S.’ most important relationship in Asia — especially as China is increasingly seen as an adversary and with an unpredictable North Korea. It is an important trading partner […]
Sol W. Sanders There is an eerie feeling of déjà vu about the drama in the East China Sea just now. Again an authoritarian government with a rapidly expanding politicized military is making more and more aggressive noises, in large part in pursuit of its voracious appetite for energy. The U.S., hegemonic power in […]
Special to WorldTribune.com East-Asia-Intel.com One year after China’s government erupted over Japan’s decision to buy three islands in the Senkaku chain from private investors, a decision dubbed by politicians as “nationalization,” a whopping 69.6 percent of Japanese in a recent public opinion poll endorsed the government’s action. Respondents to the poll clearly put blame for […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com The landslide victory won by the Shinzo Abe administration in last weekend’s parliamentary elections is unlikely to lead to a detente in Japan’s difficult relations with China. Just the opposite. While senior Chinese officials have remained reticent, the official media have zeroed in on the fact that with […]
Special to WorldTribune.com East-Asia-Intel.com The sweeping parliamentary victory last weekend has made Shinzo Abe one of the most powerful post-war Japanese prime ministers. Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) controls both chambers of the Japanese parliament known as the Diet. The resounding win has also given him a clear mandate to review the nation’s defense […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Compiled by Miles Yu, Geostrategy-Direct.com Japanese investment in China last year exceeded $70 billion. There are 14,000 Japanese companies in China. But that may be about to change because Japan is poised to leave China for India, adding huge benefits to the South Asian country in terms of jobs creation, technological transfer, […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Compiled by Miles Yu, Geostrategy-Direct.com There is a New Great Game in Africa and this time it is China and Japan that are competing for influence and favor. The primary tool in this contest is the extraordinarily generous economic aid packages for impoverished African nations. This is not new to both economic […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com For a people who, to superficial appearances, convey an impression of extreme politeness, calmness and all-around good manners, some Japanese in quite high places are doing their best these days to alter this image. The Japanese have so many ways of saying, sorry, with so many gradations of […]