Politics and Economy

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appeared before an anxious crowd last winter at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. The speech, one element of a charm offensive in Washington, is now regarded as part of the “Japan is back” narrative that the Abe administration has been promoting since it wrested power in December 2012.

The Shimokita Peninsula in Aomori Prefecture is situated at the northern end of Honshu, the central island in the Japanese archipelago. Shaped like an upright hatchet, the peninsula sits across from the island of Hokkaido. And on the edge of its “blade” is the Oma nuclear power plant.

GENEVA--The head of a United Nations investigative panel on human rights in North Korea said that the country’s leaders should be held accountable for crimes against humanity.

If there is a compelling international lesson of the last half century it is that trade improves understanding between nations. Every time one person freely trades with another, wealth increases; and when wealth increases, countries grow stronger.

At least 1.7 million Cambodians, over a fifth of the population, lost their lives during the four-year rule of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge regime (1975-79).

When I read the statement by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the time of his visit to Yasukuni Shrine late last year, I was reminded of "Haisen-go Ron" (A post-defeat treatise) by Norihiro Kato, a literary critic and professor at Waseda University, because of these words of Abe's: "I paid a visit to Yasukuni Shrine and expressed my sincere condolences, paid my respects and prayed for the souls of all those who had fought for the country and made the ultimate sacrifice."

On Dec. 15, 2012, in the Laotian capital of Vientiane, 62-year-old citizen activist Sombath Somphone was stopped by police at a checkpoint and taken away by unidentified abductors.

On Dec. 26, 2013, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a surprise visit to Yasukuni Shrine. His trip to the controversial Shinto shrine made many Japanese worried about a possible replay of the waves of anti-Japanese protests that swept through China after Japan “nationalized” the disputed Senkaku Islands in September 2012.

It may be natural that the continuing rise in the number of babies born out of wedlock in Korea has drawn attention from many demographers who are concerned about the country’s low birthrate.

China's muted reaction to the crisis in Ukraine has surprised many, given Beijing’s longstanding principle of “noninterference” that would suggest consternation at Moscow’s actions. China's ambivalence about the crisis stems from its jumble of competing interests--interests that would lead Beijing to oppose Russian military intervention on the one hand, but also American political intervention on the other.

The first ministerial talks between China and Taiwan since their 1949 split were held on Feb. 11 in Nanjing. Cross-strait relations have entered a new phase of direct dialogue between governments, but can they proceed without letting the parties' differences get in the way?

Remarks uttered by Katsuto Momii at his first news conference as chairman of Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) on Jan. 25 beggar belief.

A notable part of the decision issued in the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, convened in November 2013, is a relaxation of the "one-child policy."

A unique aura surrounds the term “special economic zone” in China.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan is getting dangerously close to altering a cornerstone of the national Constitution through his own reinterpretation rather than by formal amendment.

Concern over the 2011 nuclear disaster in Japan has caused Vietnam to delay construction of its first nuclear power plant.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's support for Katsuto Momii, the new chairman of Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK), despite Momii's recent remarks dismissing the rape of Asian "comfort women," reflect a deep-seated misogyny within Japan’s ruling elites that casts serious doubt on Abe’s professed commitment to improve the status of women, key to the as-yet-undelivered reforms essential for the success of Abenomics, writes author Henry Laurence in The Diplomat.

After Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s December visit to Yasukuni Shrine, Washington expressed its “disappointment,” and criticism of Abe swept through the U.S. media. American reactions to the visit have been overwhelmingly negative: some people are baffled, some are exasperated and some are downright angry. These reactions stem from the symbolism of Yasukuni, and from the belief that Japan has not done enough to confront its wartime past. And Americans are concerned that Abe’s visit will make East Asian crises more likely and cooperation more elusive.

At the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) plenary meeting, held from Jan. 13-15, President Xi Jinping reiterated his strong resolve to fight corruption.

The American and Japanese governments may have thought they had finally struck a deal to resolve a long-festering dispute over the United States military presence on Okinawa, but a familiar obstacle has reappeared: furious Okinawans, who will have to bear the consequences of the agreement.