by Akari Shono
For the first time in 62 years, regime change took place in the lower house parliament in Japan. The landslide victory of the 45th Lower House Election went to Democratic Party Japan (DPJ), the Liberal Democratic Party 's (LDP) main opposition party, on Sunday.
"You mean strangers don't help each other in France?"
By chris eberhardt,
on 28-08-2009 19:10
Views : 4392
Favoured : 180
“你的意思是在法国陌生人互相不帮助吗？” (也我第一个中文)
"You mean strangers don't help each other in France?" I overheard a young French man and presumably Chinese woman discuss the frequency of Chinese people offering assistance by providing phone numbers, etc. when departing from new encounters with strangers. Obviously this generalization about how strangers in China and France treat each other caught my attention as I write about it now. I am curious about the importance, or the meaning.
Do We Need To Establish Stronger Inter-Asian Networks For North Korean Denuclearization?
By Administrator,
on 28-08-2009 00:46
Views : 3987
Favoured : 155
TOKYO-The final destination of the diplomatic Asia tour ended in Japan for Ambassador Philip S. Goldberg, coordinator for Implementation of UNSC Resolution 1874, on Thursday. The three-day visit in Japan was emphasized on the matter of how UN Security Council's resolution on North Korea's nuclear proliferation has been implemented, which so far appears to be satisfactory to his mind, as commented by Akitaka Saiki, Director General of Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Ocean Affairs Bureau.
So if all goes well, Japan will get a political face-lift and US will need to acclimate to that chan
By iga,
on 16-08-2009 01:23
Views : 3367
Favoured : 138
JAPAN-In a survey released on August 3rd, 62.6% of people said they would vote for DJP, the main opposition of LDP, if there were to be a call for general election. Meanwhile, only 11.5% of survey participants said they wanted LDP to remain in power. With this likelihood of administration change, Obama administration is surely preparing to redesign their foreign relations with Japan. Simply put, the victory of DPJ in August 30th election means that the US can no longer expect a compliant ally. The plenary power of the US over "transnational" decision-making process with the Japanese government will significantly decrease. Or at least, they will have a much harder time persuading Japan to concur with their proposals this time around.
In Japan, amidst the raucous political climate the 64th Anniversary of End of WWII may be observed with serenity. With the possibility of administration change after August 30 lower house election, LDP representatives is tentative about whether or not to make a trip to Yasukuni Shrine. According to Yomiuri Shinbun, on Sunday, Prime Minister Aso said that he haｓ no intention of visiting Yasukuni Shrine, a shrine dedicated to the soldiers and other Japanese victims of the war. To the question regarding the visit, he responded that such ceremony must be done without politics and the presence of mass media. The shrine is a place for silent prayer. Also, 15 out of 17 of top bureaucrats have already made it more or less clear that they will not be publicly paying visit to the shrine this year on moral grounds.
Below is an excerpt from a article on CNN.com about the differences in American and Asian negotiation process and so wanted to ping the group to see if they agree or disagree or have any further comments to add..
