October 07,2015 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (October 2015)

The shadow of history hung over Japan in the late summer as Abe’s statement was debated, the seventieth anniversary of the war’s end passed on August 15, and Xi Jinping commemorated the same anniversary on September 3. Various bilateral relations were put in historical context, as was the march to collective self-defense laws that preoccupied the Japanese public through much of September. Ther..

Editorial Staff
Economic Relations , History Wars , National security , North Korea , Post-Cold War , ROK-Sino alliance , Russo-Sino alliance
September 24,2015 Alternative Scenarios

Scenario of China’s Fault

In March 2015, Premier Li Keqiang gave a press conference following the conclusion of the annual National People’s Congress, in which he explained that China’s relationship with Japan had reached an important crossroads. In a year in which the two countries were about to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the end of WWII, Li presented what appeared to be an ultimatum to the Abe governme..

Amy King
CCP , Economic Relations , National identity , Re-Remember , Regionalism
September 23,2015 Open Forum

Washington Insights (Vol. 3, No. 5)

Four events drove discussions in DC in the normally quiet weeks of late summer. First, there was the Abe statement and the implications of historical memories for bilateral relations and US regional policy. Second, there was North Korea’s threat of war followed by direct talks with South Korea with uncertain implications. Third, Xi Jinping’s seventieth anniversary commemoration further showcas..

Editorial Staff
History Wars , Japan-US relations , Nationalism Security , Obama-Abe summit , Regionalism , ROK-Sino Relations
September 23,2015 Alternative Scenarios

Positive Scenario II: Optimism amidst Doubts for China and Its International Behavior

On the occasion of the seventieth anniversary of the end of WWII, China’s much expected military parade of September 3 was held in Beijing. After all, China, the “forgotten ally” as the British historian Rana Mitter put it, was a key part of the anti-fascist alliance during WWII. It bore a heavy burden in the Asian theater and made a great contribution to the final victory. Severely victimiz..

Ren Xiao*
China-Japan-South Korea summit , National identity , One Belt One Road , Regionalism
September 18,2015 Alternative Scenarios

Scenario of Japan’s Fault

As the fiftieth anniversary of Japan’s defeat in the Asia-Pacific War approached in the summer of 1995, the Japanese Diet debated a resolution, which, it was hoped, would lay the ghosts of the past to rest. The aim was to present a national statement of memory and remorse, broadly supported across the political spectrum and addressing the concerns of the victims of Japan’s imperial expansion, ..

Tessa Morris-Suzuki
Abe Statement , History problem , National identity , Regionalism
September 18,2015 Alternative Scenarios

History Will Continue to Haunt Japan’s Relations with China

In 2015, history has cast a darker shadow on Japan’s relations with China than at any time since normalization of relations in 1972. This was the seventieth anniversary year of war’s end, Sino-Japanese relations were hesitantly emerging from three troubled years, and Xi Jinping and Abe Shinzo were pursuing agendas that showcased their differences over history. Given these factors, should we e..

Editorial Staff
September 10,2015 Alternative Scenarios

Negative Scenario II: Problems Are Structural

On September 3, Beijing’s sky was “parade blue.” It was a rare day when the US embassy index indicated that the air quality was “good.” Following the “APEC blue” last November, the Chinese government once again displayed its power to achieve what seems hardly possible. Yes, the parade was a display of power, indeed, with the brandishing of modern weapons and the disruption and restri..

Takahara Akio*
70th Anniversary , National identity , nationalism
August 18,2015 Open Forum

Striking the Twenty-first Century Trade Agreement: The Case of Intellectual Property in the Trans-Pacific Partnership and US-Northeast Asian Economic Relations

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations are reaching their final stage. There is a good chance that they will be concluded within a month or two. While this economic pact presents new directions toward solidifying US linkages to the Asia-Pacific region, the contents of the negotiations—particularly on intellectual property (IP) and investment—present future challenges to US economic relat..

June Park
Economic Relations , Intellectual property , Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights agreement , Trans-Pacific Partnership
August 18,2015 Review Article

‘Ukeikasuru Nihon seiji’ (‘Japan’s Politics Leaning to the Right’)

Nakano Koichi, Ukeikasuru Nihon seiji (Japan’s Politics Leaning to the Right), (Tokyo: Iwanami Shinsho, 2015) On the day when the “Abe statement” in commemoration of the seventieth anniversary of the end of WWII is issued, this review article considers one Japanese critic’s analysis of what lies behind the statement. After all, Abe is but the most recent, if also far the most prominen..

Gilbert Rozman
Kokkashugi , Liberal Democratic Party , National identity , National security , Revisionism
August 13,2015 Open Forum

Washington Insights (Vol. 3, No. 4)

The Cold War era is looking different from before in hindsight of the 2010s. The key breakthroughs in bilateral relations now seem less transformative, even to a degree fleeting. The 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty seems shakier, given Abe’s revisionism. The 1965 Japan-ROK normalization is under duress, given the rulings by Korean courts on “comfort women” and forced labor as well as public ..

Editorial Staff
Abe-Obama summit , Japan-US relations , Regionalism , Sino-ROK Relations , unification