Asiatica Association

 To answer the question "what is happening in Eurasia?" the simply put conclusion is that China is restructuring the international order by utilizing "One Belt One Road" (OBOR), aiming to achieve Pax Sinica. Many mass media in Japan love to introduce this OBOR as an economic initiative. The economic aspect, however, is just a part of the OBOR. 

     Mr. Xi Jinping of China has iterated that OBOR goes from "the country-to-country community of common destiny" to "the regional community of common destiny," and even further to "the community of common destiny for mankind," uniting the development of China and the countries on the route. OBOR is an initiative to form a China-led international order, in another words "the community of common destiny for mankind," therefore it pursuits the world order of Pax Sinica.

     What China is promoting through OBOR are, first of all, to build "Five Cooperation Priorities" which are (1) policy coordination, (2) facilities connectivity, (3) unimpeded trade, (4) financial integrity, and (5) people-to-people bond. OBOR is an initiative of building China-led global governance through forming of the connectivity that comes with the joint construction of the economic corridor.

The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies (AJISS) has just published the AJISS-Commentary no. 84 by Masahiko Ebashi, Professor of Asian Economies at Meiji Gakuin University.

In November, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his counterparts from five Mekong region countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand) held their first summit in Tokyo. Hatoyama then pledged to provide financial and technical assistance in a wide range of areas, including the environment and climate change, infrastructure, health care and basic education, in order to assist the region's development. He committed more than 500 billion yen in official development assistance (ODA) over the next three years.

The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies (AJISS) has just published the AJISS-Commentary no. 78 by Naoto Nonaka, Professor of Comparative Politics at Gakushuin University.

The End of LDP Rule and its Meaning

The recent change of government in Japan was a clear indication that the historical mission of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had come to an end. The party had ruled post-World War II Japan almost uninterruptedly by adapting to the special postwar environment, but its governance had stalled out on many fronts. The long-believed assumption about Japanese politics that there would be no change of government was finally abandoned.

The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies (AJISS) has just published the AJISS-Commentary no. 69 by Matake Kamiya ([email protected]), Professor of International Relations at the National Defense Academy of Japan.

Strategic Implications for Japan of the Relocation of US Marines from Okinawa to Guam

On February 17, 2009, Japan’s Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed an accord on the planned relocation of US Marines from Okinawa to Guam. Currently, there are approximately eighteen thousand Marines (most of whom belong to the III Marine Expeditionary Force [MEF]) stationed in Okinawa. On May 1, 2006, in the “United States-Japan Roadmap for Realignment Implementation (Roadmap),” Tokyo and Washington agreed to transfer approximately eight thousand of these Marines to the US bases in Guam by 2014. The two countries also agreed that Japan would assume about 59% of the financial cost of the relocation. The new accord reconfirmed the willingness of the two countries to actually implement the relocation as stipulated in the Roadmap. On May 13, the Japanese Diet officially endorsed the accord.

A few days ago Enrica Garzilli published the paper Le elezioni dell'assemblea costituente e i primi mesi di governo della Repubblica Democratica Federale del Nepal [The Elections of the Constituent Assembly and the First Months of Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal].

It analyses the period before and during the elections and the madhesi revolt, wondering whether the elections were representative of people's will, and the two main problems of the democratic Nepal. The first one is the severe energy crisis, which brought the whole country to 16 hours of power cut every day. The second main issue is the destination over the 20,000 Maoist soldiers, who should be trained and resettled as ordinary Nepali citizens. On May 23, 2009 this situation brought Prachanda to quit as Prime Minister, after a conflict with the president over the dismissal of the army's chief of staff, and Madhav Kumar Nepal at the head of the government.

The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies (AJISS), consisting of three leading Japanese think tanks, the Institute for International Policy Studies (IIPS), The Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), and Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS), has just published the AJISS-Commentary no. 68 by Takashi Shiraishi, President of the Institute of Developing Economies - Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO), and Professor of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies

Indonesian Politics: Prospects for the Coming Presidential Election

The result of the parliamentary elections held in Indonesia on April 9 is now out officially. The Democratic Party (PD) with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as its patron has emerged as the first party with 150 seats (out of 560), followed by the Golkar Party headed by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) led by former President Megawati Sukarnoputri. The four leading Islamic parties — the Islamist Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the United Development Party (PPP), and the National Awakening Party (PKB) — did badly, with their combined votes plummeting from 44% in the previous 2004 elections to 25% this time.

The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies (AJISS), consisting of three leading Japanese think tanks, the Institute for International Policy Studies (IIPS), The Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), and Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS), has just published the AJISS-Commentary no. 67 by Hideya Kurata, professor of International Security and Korean Studies at the National Defense Academy, Yokosuka, Japan.

An Unwelcome Deja vu: A New US-North Korea Missile Deal

When I look at North Korea’s foreign policy toward the United States, I often get caught up in a feeling of déjà vu. This is not without cause. In contrast to the US, whose North Korean policy shifts in accordance to a change of government or of personnel with the same government, North Korea has had almost the same people in charge of its American policy since the first nuclear crisis some ten years ago. Throughout the period, the country has aimed at securing deterrence against the US by developing nuclear weapons and missiles and seeking from the US compensation for halting the development at crucial junctures.

It has been just published AJISS-Commentary no. 64 "Why is the Pacific Islands Summit Important?", by Izumi Kobayashi.

The paper deals with the meaning and importance of the fifth Japan-Pacific Islands Forum Summit Meeting, which will be held in May in Tomamu, Hokkaido. Leaders from 16 Pacific island countries and territories, including Australia and New Zealand, will meet and the Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso is expected to announce the idea of creating a "Pacific environmental community". The thesis of Prof. Kobayashi is that Japan will host this meeting basically to support the development of smaller islands.