Douglas H. Paal, Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, spoke with the Sankei Shimbun’s Washington correspondent Hiroyuki Kano. As a former White House Asia specialist, Paal emphasized the need for an ambitious regional strategy after President Donald Trump’s Asia trip in November 2017. How do you […]
United States President Donald Trump’s trip to Asia was the longest made by an American president to the region since 1991, and it has not been a failure. If that long visit had been made by any other president, it would most certainly have been hailed in positive terms. Both the Japan and South […]
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull attend a trilateral meeting at ASEAN. A recent meeting between officials from the United States, Japan, Australia, and India on the sidelines of the 31st ASEAN Summit and has set the news circles aflutter not only in these countries, but […]
President Donald Trump has just ended a surprisingly successful five-country first visit to Asia. His marathon 12-day tour began on a positive note with a warm reception by Japan’s government and people. There was much curiosity, but no demonstrations against, surrounding his visit—unlike those which occurred in the ROK and the Philippines. Regardless, there was […]
In the aftermath of United States President Donald Trump’s first official visit to Japan, it is timely to ask what has changed since winning his election 12 months ago. At first glance, as far has Japan is concerned, the answer would appear to be very little. Overall, the friendly atmosphere of the visit suggests that […]
On his trip to Da Nang in central Vietnam, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the evening of November 11th, with both leaders vowing to further improve relations between their countries. The Prime Minister called for China to play a greater role in efforts to exert maximum pressure on North […]
A radical “America First” approach to trade is central to United States President Donald Trump’s foreign policy in Asia. He speaks frequently of reaching “fair” trade arrangements, which benefit the US. In part, it was because of this and soon after Mr. Trump came to office that he blocked the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement involving Japan—much to […]
Former comfort woman Lee Yong-soo, 88, attended South Korea’s welcome reception for United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday, November 7th, upon the invitation of her government. It is undeniable that Seoul’s brazen efforts are to use Trump’s visit to promote its version of the comfort women issue, while ownership of Takeshima is yet […]
In the sense that no war has occurred amongst major military powers from the time of the Cold War, the last 70-plus years arguably was a period of relative peace—something rather unusual in history. This peace was based on a paradox, however, with the immensely destructive power of nuclear weapons functioning as the ultimate deterrence to large-scale conflict. At the […]
At a joint press conference on Monday, November 6th, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and United States President Donald Trump described the relationship between the two countries as something beyond an alliance, rather they called it a “bond.” In part, this was forged during their meeting, just before the leaders faced the press, with the […]
Families of Japanese abducted by North Korean agents decades ago met with United States President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this Monday afternoon, November 6, at the Akasaka Palace in Moto-Akasaka, conveying their hopes for an eventual rescue of the still missing abductees. Among them was Sakie Yokota, 81, mother of […]
President Donald Trump salutes during a welcome ceremony at U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM), Friday, Nov. 3, 2017, in Aiea, Hawaii. Trump begins a 5 country trip through Asia traveling to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippians. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) In his long speech during the recent 19th National Congress of the […]
