Japan
Commentary
How will Japan's new leader handle growing China-US tensions?
After years warning others to be wary of Beijing, Tokyo is now adopting a low profile. Originally published in the Nikkei Asian Review.
India puts relations with Japan back on the rails
Arguably the greatest, most visible and most impactful legacy of the British Raj in India is the train network that criss-crosses the country. So it perhaps comes as little…
Suga steps in, at least for now
While much has been made of Shinzo Abe’s record-breaking term as Japan’s prime minister, his new successor, Yoshihide Suga, held his role as Chief Cabinet Secretary for the same…
The making of Prime Minister Suga
Suga Yoshihide’s moment in Japanese politics arrived with the premature resignation last month of Abe Shinzo. Suga was considered the indispensable architect of the Abe…
Australia has lost its “best friend” in Asia
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s resignation announcement on Friday caught almost everyone by surprise. Notably Scott Morrison tweeted that he would miss Abe as a friend and a…
Abe aimed to move mountains, setting Japan high goals for the future
With Abe Shinzo’s unexpected announcement last Friday that he would step down as prime minister, Japanese politics stands at a crossroads. Abe became the longest-serving prime…
Japan’s tech industry reboot will have region-wide effects
With Covid-19, Japan has an opportunity to help accelerate the world’s digital transformation and, simultaneously, to revitalise its fragile domestic economy. In an encouraging…
Commentary
Beijing hard-liners kick against Xi Jinping's wolf warrior diplomacy
Foreign policy hawks concede that current strategy is winning China no new friends. Originally published in the Nikkei Asian Review.
Beyond Covid, the chance for a broader Australia-Japan relationship
If Prime Minister Abe Shinzo reads the Lowy Institute poll, it might have provided about the only fillip to his recent political fortunes. He would have no doubt been pleased that…
Popular Tokyo governor eyes a second term, and maybe more
On Sunday 5 July, Tokyo goes to the quadrennial polls to elect its governor, the position occupied since 2016 by Yuriko Koike, the city’s first female chief executive. Koike is…