Mar 19,2018 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (April 2018 with Focus on Korea)

Not only was Abe battered by a domestic scandal, his foreign policy was rocked by diplomacy, history, and trade shocks. The North Korean presence at the Winter Olympics saw Japanese media warning about Seoul turning soft and breaking away from the “maximum pressure” approach of Tokyo and Washington, which was reinforced by warnings in early […]

Editorial Staff

“smile diplomacy” , comfort women , Dokdo/Takeshima , Pyeongchang Olympics , Six-Party Talks , Yasukuni

Mar 01,2018 Open Forum

With Friends Like These: Japan-ROK Cooperation and US Policy

Although they share a common ally, history and politics keep Japan and South Korea at arm’s length and severely limit their defense cooperation. Since at least the mid-1990s, American realists—and not a few Japanese and South Korean analysts—have anticipated that the regional environment, growing steadily more dangerous, would bring these status quo democracies closer together, […]

Eric Heginbotham , Richard Samuels

comfort women , Dokdo/Takeshima , GSOMIA , Three Eyes , Yasukuni

Feb 27,2018 Special Forum

Introduction

As the diplomatic prospects for resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis took center stage while the military focus remained fixed on North Korea’s persistent advances and the “fire and fury” that President Trump threatened to unleash, it remained important in the first months of 2018 to keep the eyes of the international community on South […]

Editorial Staff

comfort women , KORUS FTA , Pyeongchang Olympics , THAAD , US-ROK alliance

Feb 27,2018 Special Forum

US-ROK Alliance

North Korea’s Olympic outreach brought an easing of tensions between North and South Korea after a year of escalating tensions throughout 2017. After delivering a somewhat conciliatory New Year’s address, Kim Jong-un sent a substantial delegation to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, led by the North’s titular head, Kim Yong-nam, accompanied by Kim Yo-jung, Kim […]

Sue Mi Terry

comfort women , Kim Yo-jung , KORUS FTA , OPCON , Pyeongchang Olympics , THAAD , trilateralism , Victor Cha

Feb 19,2018 Alternative Scenarios

Positive Scenario I

“History Bows to Strategy” In East Asia, disputes over history seem to be either roiling the region’s international relations—or lurking just beneath the surface. China emphasizes Japan’s atrocities in the Sino-Japanese war, notably the Nanjing Massacre, in its history education, commemoration, and state-controlled media. History issues also rankle Seoul and Tokyo. During the Park Geun-hye […]

Jennifer Lind

Ahn Jung-geun , comfort women , Dokdo/Takeshima , Nanjing Massacre , Senkaku/Diaoyu , Yasukuni Shrine

Feb 02,2018 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (January 2018)

From November 2017 to January 2018, South Korean news editorials discussed North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, Hwaseong-15, and covered bilateral dynamics: South Korea-China relations following the Moon-Xi summit; US-North Korea relations following Tillerson’s proposal for unconditional talks; US-South Korea relations following the release of Trump’s national security strategy and the suspension of […]

Eun A Jo

comfort women , freeze-for-freeze , Hwaseong 15 , Moon-Xi summit , Pyeongchang Olympics , THAAD

Oct 30,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (October 2017)

The October issue of Bungei Shunju traced Abe’s trajectory as prime minister. It noted his persistent interest in Japan playing a leading global role, keeping US ties as the foundation of foreign policy while strengthening relations with other countries including China and Russia. In 2014, China was the target, as Abe sought a first meeting […]

Editorial Staff

BRI , BRICS summit , comfort women , Senkaku Islands , THAAD , UN sanctions

Aug 30,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (August 2017)

Trump’s shadow hung heavily over summer developments in East Asia, as covered in Japan’s media. There was talk of US isolation, retreat in leadership, and failure in managing North Korea. Yomiuri on July 31 cited press accounts abroad without any heartening news for the Japanese public; explanations ranged beyond Trump to the broader US society—inequality, […]

Editorial Staff

ARF , comfort women , Donald Trump , history war , Kono Taro , Senkaku Islands , South China Sea

Aug 18,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: China (August 2017)

In mid-2017, Chinese analysts were preoccupied with the North Korean nuclear crisis and the South Korean decision to deploy THAAD. They identified uncertainties in the South Korea–China relationship and defined an emerging East Asian regional structure. They also assessed the Trump administration’s foreign policy and criticized Japan’s public diplomacy efforts. North Korean Nuclear CrisisIn Shijie […]

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

comfort women , Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands , ICBM , secondary sanctions , Strategic accountability , THAAD , TPP , UN sanctions

Aug 16,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (July 2017)

President Moon made his international debut at the summit with President Trump in Washington and at meetings with the G20 leaders in Germany. His debut was generally considered successful. On the surface, the first meeting between Moon and Trump appeared to be a meaningful one, reaffirming the solidarity of the alliance between South Korea and […]

Editorial Staff

comfort women , G20 , KORUS FTA , Moon Jae-in , THAAD , Trump-Moon summit