Today in Japan (11.12.17)
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported on November 12, 2017.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported on November 12, 2017.
Americans march in Tokyo to demand the release of Donald Trump’s tax returns and transparency in US policymaking. One of the key organizers, Jesse Glickstein, speaks to the Shingetsu News Agency.
The Draft Resolution of the Japanese Communist Party 27th Congress contains valuable insights about how the global superpower is viewed by sections of Japanese political left.
Japanese leaders’ hopeless quest to talk down a madman
Dr. Adel Al-Jubeir, Saudi Foreign Minister, addresses Japanese journalists in Tokyo on September 2, 2016. Topics included diplomatic issues with Syria and Iran.
Almost seventy years after the guns fell silent, the Second World War remains very much present in the media, with frequent reminders of the human cost of the conflict. In the case of Japan this includes the fate of the soldiers and civilians captured in the closing days of the war, when the Soviet Union declared war and quickly overran Manchuria.
Almost seventy years after the guns fell silent, the Pacific War still haunts Japan in many ways. While the country’s reconstruction took place successfully, and Tokyo found a place in the Pax Americana underpinning economic growth in the Pacific for decades, historical disputes often make headlines and act as an obstacle to deeper relationships with countries such as South Korea.
The first impression one encounters in Ho Chi Minh City is the swarms of motorbikes. I’d seen pictures of this, but nothing quite prepares you for the spectacle of thousands of the little scooters flowing along the streets and even sidewalks like an endless river. By some estimates there are five million motorbikes in Ho Chi Minh, a city of about eight million, which works out to one for practically every able-bodied adult in the city.
Japan is completing steps to launch a derivatives market for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). While oil has long been traded in both spot and future markets, LNG remains very much the province of long-term fixed-price contracts. Japan is one of the biggest consumers, accounting for some 40% of world imports.
Recent news from Southeast Asia has been dominated by maritime conflicts, and then trade negotiations in second place. However, nature has once again reminded us all that it is not just conflicts among nations that threaten the life and property of citizens. The reminder has come in the shape of a terrible typhoon, known as Haiyan or Yolanda.