Asiatica Association

The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies (AJISS) has published the AJISS-Commentary No. 98 “Russia’s Far East and Japan: Obstacles to Cooperation”, by Yoshiaki Nishimura
(y_nishimura@mwe.biglobe.ne.jp), Professor of Economics at Teikyo University in Tokyo and Professor of Political Science at Keio University.

Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District managed to record a 3.5% economic growth in 2009, although the Russian economy as a whole suffered a major setback with its real gross domestic product contracting by 7.9% compared with 2008. This was largely due to the growth of the mining and manufacturing industry in Sakhalin, the extractive sector in particular. Moscow’s high-powered preparations for the 2012 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vladivostok are also adding dynamism to the development of the Far Eastern economy.

We have just received (on surface mail) the Newsletter for Research in Chinese Studies, 114 (May 2010 - vol. 29, no. 2), a hard copy quarterly published by the Center for Chinese Studies (CCS), established in 1981 to promote research in Chinese studies both in Taiwan (The Republic of China) and overseas.

It is written in Chinese with subtitles in English. It contains articles, interviews, and regular updates on the happenings in the worldwide community of Chinese studies.

This issue includes: Special Feature ("Setting Sail on a New Century: The Opening of the National Central Library's "Matteo Ricci & Pacific Studies Reading Room", by Karl Min Ku); Summary of Research (papers: "A Brief Discussion of W. A. P. Martin's Chinese Version of "Psalm of Life", by Wang Wenbing; "A Survey of Public

The United States and South Korea held an historic bilateral meeting of ministers of foreign affairs and defense (or “2+2”) for the first time on July 21, 2010, coinciding with the sixtieth anniversary of the Korean War. This meeting was followed by a four-day joint show of force that included the aircraft carrier George Washington, F-22 Raptors, and a variety of anti-submarine warfare exercises. The 2+2 meeting and naval exercises underscore high levels of U.S. support for the military alliance with South Korea and U.S. commitment to continued deterrence on the Korean peninsula. The focus on near-term urgent issues such as coordinating an effective response to the March 25 Cheonan sinking was perhaps inevitable. However, it squeezed out the important strategic task of consolidating the alliance based on the affirmation provided by Presidents Obama and Lee through the June 2009 Joint Vision Statement.  Because this task requires cabinet-level attention to guide the bureaucracy, the focus on near-term coordination may have come at a cost to the broader goals of the alliance.

The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies (AJISS) has published the AJISS-Commentary No. 96 “Japan Facing a New Latin America” by Keiichi Tsunekawa (Tsunekawa.Keiichi@jica.go.jp), Director of Japan International Cooperation Agency Research Institute

Japan today faces a Latin America completely different from the one it knew ten or fifteen years ago. The old Latin America was a continent of hyper inflation and turbulent economics. It was rife with political instability, fluctuating between military/autocratic regimes and moderately authoritarian ones. Internationally, the region was subject to the strong influence of the United States and U.S.-dominated international and regional organizations.

We have just received (on surface) the Sungkyun Journal of East Asian Studies, vol. 10, no. 1 (Apr. 2009). This is a research publication on Sinology written in English. It is published by the Academy of East Asian Studies of Sungkyunkwan University.

This edition includes a special issue titled "Genealogies in Korea and China", containing the papers: "On the Construction Process of the Surname / Ancestral Seat Descent Groups in Korea as Seen through Genealogies" by Miyajima Hiroshi; "The Effects of Man's Remarriage and Adoption on Family Succession in

We have just received (on surface mail) the Newsletter for Research in Chinese Studies, 113 (February 2010 - vol. 29, no. 1), a hard copy quarterly published by the Center for Chinese Studies (CCS), established in 1981 to promote research in Chinese studies both in Taiwan (The Republic of China) and overseas.

It is written in Chinese with subtitles in English. It contains articles, interviews, and regular updates on the happenings in the worldwide community of Chinese studies.

Le numéro 33 de la lettre d'information Pattrika, bulletin des Instituts français de recherche en Inde (IFP, CSH, EFEO), peut être téléchargé sur le site Internet de l'Institut Français de Pondichéry, ou en cliquant sur le lien ci-dessous: PATTRIKA 33 (PDF Version)

En vous souhaitant bonne lecture, Bien cordialement,

Anand Pakiam