Global perspective: US-China tension may offer new opportunity for N. Korean diplomacy
April 12, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is seen in this file photo. (Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, First Secretary of the Workers Party of Korea (WPK), adopted a policy of parallel construction of economy and nuclear arsenal in March 2013, less than a year and a half after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il. At that time, few observers expected the reclusive country s rapid advance in missile development four years later. Following its successful development of a large-scale rocket booster in March 2017, North Korea has test fired medium-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles one after another since May of that year. In November, Pyongyang launched the Hwasong-15 missile that is said to be capable of reaching the east coast of the United States. Kim Jong Un thus declared the completion of the nat
Why is Japan cautious about taking stance on alleged Uyghur human rights abuse by China?
March 17, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi is seen at the prime minister s office on Dec. 21, 2020. (Mainichi/Kan Takeuchi) TOKYO While the U.S. government has officially deemed China s oppression of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region a genocide, the Japanese government has taken a cautious stance toward making such a declaration. The question of whether the Chinese government s actions in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) fall under genocide the destruction of an ethnic or religious group through mass killings, moves to harm and prevent births of members and other such acts has been a major theme disputed in the international community. Why has Japan taken an ambiguous position on this topic?
Edging Toward Japan: A fantasy of Japan revealed in a lavish Japanese garden far away
March 16, 2021 (Mainichi Japan) By Damian Flanagan Passing through the thatched gateway, you enter another world: The torii of an old Shinto shrine sits serenely on an alluring island in a lake festooned with lotus leaves while a delicate arched bridge beckons. Across a stream, a winding path leads you past a stone lantern to a teahouse, while a covering of moss under a canopy of cypress trees gives a sense of transcendence and stillness. You have stumbled upon a corner of paradise, but this dream of Japan is not to be found in Japan itself. The astonishingly beautiful sight is in fact some 6,000 miles away, located in a corner of the north of England. This is the Japanese garden in the country house estate of Tatton Park.
Opinion: What is the cost of apologizing in Japanese politics? Not much, it seems
February 24, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)
(Mainichi) I hear that Japan has a unique apology culture. For example, in North America and Europe, monetary recompense is considered important, but in Japan, it is the words of apology that are apparently important above all. This kind of culture may be changing in recent years, however. According to the results of a large-scale 2012 survey carried out by Japanese scholars and others on Asia including Japan and the West, people in every country covered were more likely to be forgiven if they paid some sort of cost in addition to offering words of apology.
Edging Toward Japan: The Zen-like insight of Raymond Carver
February 3, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)
The Salisbury Cathedral in Britain (Photo by Damian Flanagan) By Damian Flanagan It s been many years since I read Raymond Carver s iconic short story, Cathedral (1981), so I thought I might reread it. The plot runs something like this: a wife announces to her husband, in some humdrum East Coast American town, that an old friend a middle-aged blind man who she used to work for is coming to stay. The blind man has over the years become her great confidant, someone with whom she exchanges her emotional problems and deepest feelings.