Senkaku Islands
Reports on Senkaku Islands See all →

Shinzo Abe’s successors to face a nasty test of wills in the East China Sea

The Chinese craft intrusions in the territorial waters and airspace of Japan’s Senkaku Islands put Tokyo in a quandary. It has worked hard to have good relations with Beijing. The question marks over the reliability of Washington’s support for U.S. Asian allies further complicates the Japanese position.

The impact, role and influence of America’s emerging new global policy
America is developing a new global role which will see it shift from a global policeman to a fixer among the world’s trouble spots. The US is evolving into a less polarised position and is taking the centre ground as it re-balances its position on global issues and acts more ...


Assertive China dominates Russia and Japan
Increasing tension between Japan and China over Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea has created an arena for Russia to raise its profile in the region. But an obstacle to a restored Russian presence is its long-standing conflict with Japan over the Kuril islands. There could be grounds ...


Brittle West Pacific is testing ground for future global geopolitics
The West Pacific has become the centre of global political and strategic interactions. China, the United States, Russia and Japan are each defining their future global role in that regional context. All four pursue national strategies which are bound to display ambivalences and none seems capable of achieving hegemonic dominance. ...


Toru Hashimoto’s political power base in Japan
There is a huge demand for a fresh force in Japanese politics after 20 years of stagnation. Osaka mayor Toru Hashimoto is galvanising support among a ‘lost generation’ which has virtually given up on politics. But doubts remain on his economic and foreign policies. THE RAPID rise of Toru Hashimoto, ...
