Jason Miks

TOKYO -- Asia may already have an alphabet soup of regional economic and security arrangements, but Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama seem to believe there is room for at least a few more. Their proposals come at a time when regional trade agreements have been proliferating. But is there really a future for increased Asian integration? more

TOKYO -- The Dalai Lama was not the only influential figure looking for an audience in Tokyo last month. His visit followed close on the heels of current Indian National Security Adviser M. K. Narayanan, who met with recently elected Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. Indeed, as tensions mount between India and China, some analysts see Japan as a natural ally for New Delhi.

TOKYO -- Since officially taking office two weeks ago, Japan's new prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, has increasingly signaled a break with the foreign policy of the ousted Liberal Democratic Party. Although the U.S. has long called for an increasingly independent Japanese posture, Hatoyama's approach could mean the U.S. gets more than it bargained for.
more

TOKYO -- The opposition Democratic Party of Japan on Sunday romped to a landslide election win, bringing more than 50 years of almost uninterrupted rule by the Liberal Democratic Party to a dramatic end. Yet despite the historic win, and the apparent desire for change among Japanese voters that it reflects, it is unclear how much of a difference the DPJ victory really heralds.
more

TOKYO -- After more than half a century of virtually uninterrupted rule by the Liberal Democratic Party, Japanese voters look poised to opt for a change in the early general election now scheduled for Aug. 30. A victory by the opposition Democratic Party of Japan would leave open many questions about the future direction of Japan's diplomacy and defense, questions for which the DPJ's manifesto provides few answers.
more

The biggest electoral show on earth is now under way in India. But despite India's reputation as a growing power on the international stage, foreign policy is set to play at most a marginal role in the decisions of most of its estimated 714 million voters. With about 220 million still living below the poverty line, many Indians are understandably more concerned about bread and butter issues. more

TOKYO -- Japan made it known that it hoped to take advantage of any momentum in reforming the U.N Security Council to secure a seat as a permanent member. The renewed attention to the issue comes after U.N. officials announced plans to press forward with reform of the Security Council. Although currently a rotating member until the end of 2010, permanent status has proved elusive for Tokyo. more

TOKYO -- Despite having denied plans to drop its efforts to acquire the F-22 Raptor, the Japanese government seems no closer to securing an order of the stealth fighter in the face of an American export ban. The U.S. is said to be wary of lifting the ban because of a well-publicized data leak concerning the U.S.-developed Aegis defense system by a Japanese officer in 2007. The approach has left some Japanese policymakers and U.S. analysts frustrated. more

TOKYO -- The residents of Obama, Japan, might have celebrated the election of their town's namesake as the next U.S. president, but many Japanese remain apprehensive about what the change in leadership will mean for their country's most important ally. The uncertainty about future relations is compounded by a fear that the U.S. might tilt toward China. more

TOKYO -- Last month the Indian Navy sunk what it believed to be a Somali pirate "mother ship" off the coast of Somalia. The vessel turned out to be a Thai trawler, but the intervention nevertheless highlighted an increasing willingness among Asian nations to take a lead in tackling the growing piracy problem that has garnered worldwide attention and alarm. Notwithstanding the Indian misstep, the results so far are impressive. Asia's Malacca Straits experienced just two attacks through September, compared with 70 in 2000. more

TOKYO -- At last week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Japan and Russia had been expected to announce plans for a visit by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to Japan by the end of this year. But the decision to instead postpone the visit until early next year is a fair reflection of the state of political relations between the two nations -- technically still at war -- in recent years. Despite the chilly political relationship, though, economic ties between the two countries have been booming. more

The U.S.-Indian civilian nuclear agreement may still have to clear the U.S. Congress, but Indian firms and industry groups are already celebrating the Nuclear Suppliers Group's decision this month that effectively gave the agreement a green light by waiving a ban on the country engaging in nuclear trade. "The waiver will provide a number of benefits for Indian business as well as the economy as a whole," said Hussain Rammal, a lecturer in international business at the University of Adelaide. more

Having criticized his predecessor as irresponsible for his similarly abrupt departure last year, and after only just having announced an economic stimulus package that the ruling coalition hoped would win some votes, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's abrupt departure still raised eyebrows. What it really ought to raise now, but still may not, is the prospect of a snap general election. The public might still be won over by an LDP that looks like it is finally putting the interests of the country ahead of itself. more

TOKYO -- Reports last week that Georgia was hit by a coordinated cyber attack that compromised government Web sites offered a reminder of the additional front governments must protect when diplomatic or military hostilities break out between nations. It is with these kind of attacks in mind -- and the prospect that such attacks could be used to disrupt critical infrastructure -- that some Asian governments are beginning to examine more closely their countries' vulnerabilities to cyber attacks. more

TOKYO -- A flurry of activity over the past two weeks suggests the six-party talks aimed at ridding North Korea of its nuclear program might finally be back on track. But despite this progress, Japan is concerned that the U.S. might be moving too fast in removing North Korea from the terrorism sponsors list and has pressed to ensure that the issue of Japanese abductees is resolved first. Other observers have more general reservations about the limited scope of the current denuclearization agreement.
more

China appears determined to capitalize on a thaw in its relations with Taiwan since Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou took office last month, and has already invited Taiwanese officials to attend the first bilateral talks in a decade. The shift in atmosphere is in marked contrast to the tensions evident under the eight-year rule of former Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian. However, it is not just China that is likely to welcome a reduction in cross-Straits tensions, but also one of Taiwan's closest allies: Japan.
more

TOKYO -- Next week's scheduled visit to Japan by Chinese President Hu Jintao is the latest evidence of a continuing thaw in the two countries' relations. The Japan-China relationship reached a low point in April 2005, when thousands of Chinese protested Japan's approval of textbooks that critics say played down Japanese aggression in World War II. But an October 2006 visit to China by then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe marked the start of what the Chinese called an "ice-melting."
more

TOKYO -- As expected, at the meeting here of G-8 development ministers earlier this month, rich countries reaffirmed their commitment to tackling poverty in Africa and pledged to fulfill past promises of aid to developing countries. Yet for host nation Japan, the meeting came at an awkward time, coinciding with the release of a report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development stating that Japan's net official development assistance fell 30 percent in 2007 from a year earlier. more

TOKYO -- With stock markets around the world in turmoil, a rapidly appreciating currency, and signs the Japanese economy is slowing, now hardly seems a propitious time to have a vacancy at the head of the central bank of the world's second largest economy. Yet Japan's main opposition Democratic Party of Japan apparently begs to differ. The situation is only the latest evidence that Japan's main opposition party is more interested in political opportunism than in offering an alternative governing vision.
more

TOKYO -- Recent reports that Japanese lawmakers have been discussing the feasibility of constructing a 200-kilometer tunnel linking Japan with the Korean peninsula encapsulates as well as anything the current optimism over relations between the two countries. New leadership in both countries is at the root of the new optimism. But analysts say that it will not be easy for both leaders to break free of domestic nationalist constraints to real progress toward an improved relationship.
more