Japan’s Slush Fund Scandal Intensifies in Diet Discussions
Japan’s efforts to put a stop to controversial political slush funds in the form of an amendment bill has made its way to the Diet for deliberation. But political parties are deeply divided on how much...
View ArticleSemiconductor Agreement at Japan-US Summit
The summit meeting between Japan and the United States early last month produced agreements in a number of areas, including closer command and control in the defense field and cooperation in space...
View ArticleMalaysia Unveils Plans to Become Next Global Chip Hub
Malaysia is seeking to attract at least 500 billion ringgit ($107 billion) in investment for its semiconductor industry, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said yesterday, as he launched the country’s...
View ArticleFormer Thai PM Thaksin to be Charged With Royal Defamation
Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will be charged with defaming the country’s monarchy, Thai prosecutors said this morning, three months after the leader was released on parole in...
View ArticlePhilippines Vows to Protect Filipino Fishermen Amid Chinese Fishing Ban
Yesterday, the Philippine Navy vowed it would protect Filipino fishermen during the annual fishing ban that China has imposed in the contested South China Sea, including in areas lying within Manila’s...
View ArticleThe Challenges of a North Korea Breakthrough
While North Korea’s nuclear and missile program is seen as a threat in Japan and South Korea, for its part, Pyongyang considers the United States, Japan, and South Korea to be the greater threat. Not...
View ArticleA Trojan Horse? The New Kazakh Gambling Legislation Needs a Closer Look
The Kazakh parliament is turning back the clock as it mulls new legislation that would regulate the betting industry in the country. A draft law, which has been framed as a public health bill, will...
View ArticleNarendra Modi’s Decade Without Press Conferences
On May 23, Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to choose the time and venue for a press conference, which she too would...
View ArticleTaiwan’s Democracy in Crisis: Next Steps and Their Importance for the World
Taiwan’s legislative controversies are capturing global attention, shedding light on the broader geopolitical struggle with China. China’s rise, marked by expanded political and economic clout,...
View ArticleThe China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Is Under Attack
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be in Beijing next week to formally inaugurate the next phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Where the first phase, initiated in 2015, focused on...
View ArticleSouth Korea Is Spiraling Toward a Polarized Justice System
A president’s wife receives a Dior bag as a gift – it’s a stereotypical vision of East Asian corruption. But the demotion this May of prosecutors investigating South Korean First Lady Kim Keon-hee’s...
View ArticleFrance’s Faux Pacific Power: The Colonial Reality in New Caledonia
The recent unrest in New Caledonia highlights France’s enduring colonial legacy in Asia and shatters its self-ascribed image as a legitimate Pacific power. The Indigenous Kanak people have clearly...
View ArticleUzbekistan, Russia to Start Construction of Small Nuclear Power Plants
Amid a state visit to Uzbekistan this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev shook hands on an agreement that could see construction of Central Asia’s first...
View ArticleTaiwan’s New National Security Leadership
The Diplomat author Mercy Kuo regularly engages subject-matter experts, policy practitioners and strategic thinkers across the globe for their diverse insights into U.S. Asia policy. This conversation...
View ArticleSemiconductor Agreement at Japan-US Summit
The summit meeting between Japan and the United States early last month produced agreements in a number of areas, including closer command and control in the defense field and cooperation in space...
View ArticleChabahar Conundrum: India’s Path Amid Geopolitical Storms
The helicopter crash that claimed the life of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi sent shockwaves through the corridors of power in Tehran, leaving a nation in mourning and a government in flux. The...
View ArticleIndonesian Court Again Makes Controversial Tweak to Election Rules
Indonesia’s Supreme Court yesterday ordered a revision of election rules to lower slightly the age of eligibility for candidates running in the country’s gubernatorial elections, to the reported...
View ArticleWhy Dollarization Is the Solution to Laos’ Economic Woes
Laos posted an annual average growth in its gross domestic product (GDP) of more than 7 percent between 1985 and 2019. That was nothing short of an “economic miracle.” That said, since 2019 the...
View ArticleIn Timor-Leste, Activists Voice ‘Solidarity’ for Myanmar as Conflict Worsens
DILI — Southeast Asia’s youngest nation, Timor-Leste, is once again taking a bold stand for the people of Myanmar. “It is Timor-Leste’s historical responsibility to defend human rights. We share...
View ArticleUzbekistan and the New Realities of Trans-Afghan Trade
Since the beginning of the year, Uzbekistan has held several rounds of negotiations with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on financing the construction of the $7 billion...
View Article