Speakeasy: The Global Crisis of Plastic Pollution
This SNA Speakeasy features Dianna Cohen on the theme of “The Global Crisis of Plastic Pollution.”
Visible Minorities: Weaponizing the Japanese Language
On August 28, Toshimitsu Motegi, Japan’s foreign minister, was giving an official press conference to reporters in Japanese. A foreign reporter for Japan Times, Magdalena Osumi, asked some questions in Japanese. When Osumi followed up on a point he left unclear, Motegi responded to her in English.
Is China Driving Taiwanese into Nationalist Party’s Arms?
A political spat between high-ranking Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) politicians broke out last month after comments by former President Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT regarding Taiwan’s national defense.
Dateline Tokyo: September 2020
Dateline Tokyo, our series of short reports on major news developments in Japan, for September 2020
Yoshihide Suga Selected New Japanese Leader
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the first half of September 2020.
Waving the Rainbow Flag in Taiwan
For a time, Chi Chia-wei says many people thought he was the only gay person in Taiwan. He was the first Taiwanese to come out publicly on television, and for many the only gay person they could see.
Speakeasy: Japan-Russia Relations in the Post-Abe Era
This SNA Speakeasy features James D. J. Brown on the theme of “Japan-Russia Relations in the Post-Abe Era.”
Bread & Roses: Welfare in the Age of Climate Change
How would you feel if you didn’t have air conditioning in Japan’s current heat? Air conditioners are at issue in the nation’s welfare system.
Taiwan Opens to US Beef and Pork Imports
The Tsai Ing-wen administration surprised last week with the announcement that it intended to open Taiwan up to beef and pork imports from the United States. This move is clearly aimed at removing one of the major political hurdles to a bilateral trade agreement with Washington, which had made this a precondition for a bilateral trade agreement with Taiwan for well over a decade.
Speakeasy: Black People and Japanese TV Media
This SNA Speakeasy features Baye McNeil on the theme of “Black People and Japanese TV Media.”