Pawns Sacrificed to Save Abe
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported on May 27, 2018.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported on May 27, 2018.
Steven Clemons lays out his view of why the Trans-Pacific Partnership failed and Donald Trump’s expected trade policies
June 14 marked the anniversary of the end of the 1982 Falklands conflict. At that time Japan was serving a two-year period as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and was thus involved to a limited degree on the diplomatic side of the conflict. This was still the time of the Cold War, rapid Japanese economic growth, and an era where some of the territorial disputes currently making headlines in Asia were still dormant.
The loss of public faith in nuclear energy since the March 11, 2011, triple disaster has once again put the Japanese nation on the hunt for new solutions to its vast energy needs. Many voices have called for the dramatic expansion of renewable energy systems such as solar, wind, and hydro as the medium- to long-term answer to reduce the contemporary dependency on nuclear, as well as on CO2-producing forms of energy like oil and gas.
“Joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations is a far-sighted policy,” declared Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to his Cabinet and journalists on Friday, “Japan should play a leading role toward a year-end deal.” The prime minister may be exactly right, but the fact is that very few independent observers have any firm basis for making a judgment. Not only are the TPP talks highly complex, they are also secret and moving very quickly.
During his recent visit to Canada and the United States, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a number of interesting visits and public statements, once again demonstrating that he tends to give rather different messages to international audiences as compared to what he says at home.