Feb 15,2021 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (February 2021)

The end of 2020 and beginning of 2021 saw Japan in a wait-and-see mood: knowing that Joe Biden would be the US president and that Suga Yoshihide would sustain the legacy of Abe Shinzo, but unsure what Biden’s approach would be on the most sensitive issues or whether there would be the right kind of […]

Editorial Staff

comfort women , COVID-19 , free and open Indo-Pacific , Joe Biden , Quad , TPP , US-China rivalry

Jan 21,2021 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (January 2021)

Attention drifted in November 2020 to January 2021 from the election of Joe Biden in the US to the visit of Chinese foreign Minister Wang Yi to action against the spreading of leaflets into North Korea to the handling of court decisions central to the dispute with Japan over the legacy of its occupation of […]

Sanghwa Hong

Anti-leaflet law , comfort women , COVID-19 , GSOMIA , Joe Biden , THAAD

Jul 02,2020 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (July 2020)

Foremost on the minds of South Korean media writers was the intensifying competition between the United States and China and its impact on their country. Pressure has been mounting to join in exclusive economic arrangements, to make clear Seoul’s position on the PRC national security law for Hong Kong, to meet with the G7 to […]

Hong Sang Hwa , Kim Seonkyung

comfort women , COVID-19 , Fighters for Free North Korea , G7 , Inter-Korean Cooperation and Exchange Act , Kunsem , US-ROK alliance , Yoon Mi-hyang

Jan 20,2020 Special Forum

The Case of Abe Shinzo

 On November 20, 2019, Abe Shinzo became the longest-serving prime minister in Japanese history, at 2,887 days, surpassing the previous record held by Katsura Tarō in the early 1900s. If Abe serves out his current third three-year term, he will be in office until September 2021. Inclusive of his one-year tenure in 2006-2007, he will […]

Glen S. Fukushima

Abe Shinzo , Abenomics , comfort women , Kantei , Liberal Democratic Party , Northern Territories , TPP , Yasukuni Shrine

Nov 04,2019 Special Forum

Introduction

The breakdown in ROK-Japan relations in the second half of 2019 has sent shock waves across some countries and caused others to salivate about how their aspirations might be realized. At a time of uncertainty about security, economics, and even the nature of the regional order, the possibilities are many for speculation about how the […]

Gilbert Rozman

"Belt and Road" Initiative , 1965 Basic Treaty , comfort women , free and open Indo-Pacific , GSOMIA , Korea Fatigue , Korean War , US-ROK alliance

Nov 02,2019 Special Forum

Japan

Without a doubt, Japan’s relations with South Korea are at one of the lowest points in the period since the normalization of relations in 1965. For some time now, officials in Tokyo have found the relationship with Seoul frustrating and difficult. Public opinion seems to be following. In annual binational polling by Genron NPO, 23% […]

Sheila A. Smith

1965 Basic Treaty , comfort women , GSOMIA , March 1 Movement , white list

Nov 02,2019 Special Forum

South Korea

This article focuses on the case of anti-Korean sentiment and the rise of an ultranationalist “netizen” (a citizen of the Internet) movement in Japan—a topic which resonates particularly in South Korea, where images of anti-Korean attitudes in Japan abound exacerbating Japan-ROK relations. In particular, the article advances two objectives. First, it addresses the ambiguity in […]

Sharon Yoon

"Hate Korea” , anti-Koreanism , comfort women , netizen movement , Zainichi , Zaitokukai

Nov 01,2019 Special Forum

United States

US foreign policy has captured the world’s attention, as Donald Trump shifts policy around the world, not least in the Indo-Pacific region, in unanticipated directions. John Bolton’s departure as national security advisor appears to have made US concessions easier, as already seen in the abrupt shifts in policy toward Syria and Ukraine favorable to Russia. […]

Editorial Staff

America First , comfort women , GSOMIA , Trump-Kim summit , US-China trade war

Nov 01,2019 Special Forum

China

In the United States, there is much talk about how the collapse in Japan-ROK relations since July 2019 poses challenges for the US-Japan-ROK trilateral relationship led by Washington and supports Beijing in driving a wedge into US alliances. What are the Chinese authors saying? If they see an opportunity, what is it, and how do […]

Yumi Ko

"Belt and Road" Initiative , America First , comfort women , GSOMIA , RCEP

Oct 21,2019 Country Reports

Country Report: China (October 2019)

In the middle of 2019, Chinese experts evaluated the state of South Korea–Japan relations, which deteriorated sharply during the summer of 2019 with the Japanese imposition of export controls toward South Korea. Continuing their careful attention to Indian foreign policy, Chinese analysts examined expanding India–Vietnam maritime cooperation and its implications for the South China Sea […]

Danielle F. S. Cohen (assisted by Dong Jiaxin)

Act East Policy , comfort women , community of common destiny , GSOMIA , US-China trade war