Getting the economy back on track would be Kan’s top most priority. Kan views ties with the US as the core of Japan’s foreign policy, though he also greatly values the relationship with China.

• Rajaram Panda
• June 09, 2010
• IDSA Comments

The Cheonan assault has revealed to South Korea that the threat from North Korea is still ominous and capable of delivering unexpected damage.

• Preeti Nalwa
• June 07, 2010
• IDSA Comments

Hatoyama’s downfall was primarily brought about by his failure to fulfil the pre-election promise to relocate the US Marine Corps Air Station in Futenma outside of Okinawa prefecture.

• Pranamita Baruah
• June 07, 2010
• IDSA Comments

The fundamental ideological difference between the KMT and DPP supporters makes the debate on ECFA more complicated than it needs to be actually, with a peculiar intermix of politics and economics.

• Jagannath P. Panda
• June 01, 2010
• IDSA Comments

The one country that has not condemned North Korea’s role in the sinking of the Cheonan is China, which has its own strategic and economic compulsions to back North Korea.

• Rajaram Panda
• June 01, 2010
• IDSA Comments

While the notion of Malaysia as an Islamic state appears almost unthinkable, this is exactly what has transpired since the early 1980s, posing serious challenges for the country’s internal and external politics.

• Bilveer Singh
• May 24, 2010
• IDSA Comments

Xi Jinping's attempt to dejargonise political language is timely. however, how it impacts the ideology is going to be important.

• Avinash Godbole
• May 24, 2010
• IDSA Comments

While the DPJ is not averse to the idea of revising the constitution, an unfavourable domestic situation and adverse reactions from neighbours are likely to force the Hatoyama government to limit the exercise to a debate.

• Shamshad A. Khan
• May 19, 2010
• IDSA Comments

The Cheonan incident came at a very inopportune time for North Korea, irrespective of the fact whether Pyongyang had any hand in it or not.

• Rajaram Panda
• May 11, 2010
• IDSA Comments

The central question is whether democracy or semi-democracy should be subordinated to the personal ambitions of a few leaders like Thaksin or should the rule of law prevail.

• Pankaj K Jha
• April 12, 2010
• IDSA Comments

If freedom of expression was the issue then other American internet service companies like Microsoft and Yahoo! should have also exited China along with Google.

• Gunjan Singh , Avinash Godbole
• April 05, 2010
• IDSA Comments

While China has shown eagerness for the Dalai Lama’s return to China, it has categorically refused to take back the exiled Tibetan population based in India.

• Abanti Bhattacharya
• March 25, 2010
• IDSA Comments

Notwithstanding revelations about the secret nuclear pact, the Japan-US alliance is likely to remain strong and the East Asian security order will continue to be determined by the American presence

• Rajaram Panda
• March 16, 2010
• IDSA Comments

The disclosure of this agreement is aimed at scoring political points as well as addressing the discontent among the nuclear allergic Japanese who want adherence to the non-nuclear principles in letter and sprit.

• Shamshad A. Khan
• March 16, 2010
• IDSA Comments

China has to accept that the long term solution to Tibetan discontent lies in granting greater autonomy to Tibetans instead of pursuing assimilation oriented policies.

• Gunjan Singh
• March 12, 2010
• IDSA Comments

Contradictions in India-China relations provide the rationale for greater engagement exactly like it has done in the case of US-China relations.

• Avinash Godbole
• March 10, 2010
• IDSA Comments

With Hatoyama’s determination to wrest policymaking power from bureaucrats in full swing, Japan is likely to witness an intense battle between the political masters and the powerful bureaucrats for supremacy.

• Rajaram Panda
• March 02, 2010
• IDSA Comments

With APEC accounting for half the world’s global economic output and 44 per cent of its trade value, Japan’s role in creating a region wide free-trade zone and developing a strategy for economic growth of the Asia Pacific is expected to be decisive for the world economy.

• Pranamita Baruah
• February 25, 2010
• IDSA Comments

The delicately maintained peace in the Korean peninsula once again looks fragile in the wake of the war of words and exchange of artillery fire along the disputed western sea border in January 2010.

• Rajaram Panda
• February 15, 2010
• IDSA Comments

Ozawa’s clout, power and influence remain formidable and he is likely to remain an active player in Japanese politics.

• Rajaram Panda
• February 10, 2010
• IDSA Comments