Amidst all this activity, the position of Japan is absolutely, well, pivotal. From the US point of view, a wealthy, confident and committed ally is a vital asset in what it is likely to be a long drawn out strategic game
Disaster reveals national character in the starkest possible way. Japan’s response to the unprecedented triple blow of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown has demonstrated both its strengths and weaknesses – to the world and perhaps to the Japanese themselves.
A leadership change in Japan passes almost unnoticed these days, but the ascension of Naoto Kan to the role of prime minister could have a long-lasting impact on the strategic landscape.
There’s more to Japan’s new first couple than meet the eye. The prime minister’s wife, Miyuki Hatoyama, claims to have befriended Tom Cruise in a previous life when he was, apparently, Japanese. Meanwhile the prime minister himself has been behaving like the re-incarnation of a French intellectual.
Twelve months on from the collapse of Lehman Brothers and much about the event remains mysterious. It was the trigger that caused a deep recession, which began in the US but steadily crept across Europe and Asia, morphing into a global catastrophe worthy of a potboiler novel.
A notable phenomenon of this past year of living dangerously in financial markets has been the triumph of the ultra-bears. Deeply pessimistic commentators such as Nourel Roubini who were previously unknown or had only niche followings have been propelled to rock star status.
Shabu shabu is a simple but delicious Japanese dish in which transclucently thin slices of beef are dipped into a boiling broth of vegetables and tofu. A few seconds will do; just enough for the meat to turn pinky-grey.
The Abe Administration’s key achievement was to show that Japan hasn’t changed, and neither have its problems.