Democracy: Ask an Expert, or Maybe Not
To adapt Bob Dylan, for both countries “the future is already a thing of the past.”
Taiwan’s Coming Tilt to Japan
The abduction from Hong Kong of bookshop staff involved in publishing embarrassing material about China’s leaders will not help
Banknote Politics: It’s All About the Yukichis
On his return he was targeted for assassination by anti-foreigner extremists
Britain’s China Pivot Spells Opportunity for Japan
How would the UK react to a violent crackdown on protests in Hong Kong or a clash with Japan over the Senkaku Isles?
China and the Three Japans
Today’s China resembles a blurry overlay of at least three different phases of Japan’s historical trajectory
The Year of the Historian
It would be a sign of a more peaceful and stable world if the anniversaries of old conflicts came and went with hardly anyone noticing
Maggie Abe and the Eggheads of Doom
When Thatcher passed away, a Facebook campaign propelled “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead” high into the charts
Eurogeddon – the Japanese Perspective
Yet successful conservative politicians are always empiricists, not idealists…
Twilight of the Technocrats
Even Iceland, this century’s poster-child for financial excess, is almost back to peak economic activity
Japan’s Immigration Dilemma
The role model is Yuichiro Miura, who reached the summit of Mount Everest at the age of 80