May 13, 2021
South Korean President Moon Jae-in delivered a speech on May 10 to mark his fourth year in office. Although it was called a “special address,” the president, as usual, almost apologetically focused on the nation’s economic difficulties and the government’s poor handling of COVID-19 pandemic.
On his foreign policy, Mr. Moon discussed North Korea and the United States, climate change and South Korean cultural exports and the growing worldwide popularity of “K-pop, K-beauty, K-food, and K-content.” There was no mention, however, about the troubles plaguing Japan-South Korea relations. This might explain why Japan’s mainstream media outlets hardly focused on Mr. Moon’s speech.
May 8, 2021
Whenever I read diplomatic statements, I try to read between the lines. I have especially been doing this ever since I left the Foreign Ministry in 2005. I know policymakers rarely discuss sensitive issues in public documents, and the communique of the May 3-5 Group of Seven foreign ministers’ meeting in London was no exception.
The latest G7 foreign ministers’ communique of more than 12,000 words was so long that a great majority of high-ranking diplomats from the group’s member states may not have time to read the entire document. With that said, this paper is worth reading, since G7 foreign ministers have not produced a joint communique since April 2017.
Japanâs ambitious carbon target sparks bureaucratic panic
Robin Harding
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Tokyo | When Yoshihide Suga pledged to slash Japanâs carbon emissions by 2030, the Prime Minister received a warm welcome from world leaders at Joe Bidenâs climate summit. But his announcement sparked panic across Japanâs bureaucracy.
Policymaking in Japan normally involves a slow and painful process of building consensus. This time, however, Mr Suga imposed the target â a 46 per cent reduction from 2013 levels by 2030 â with no consultation, little political debate and no analysis to suggest it is even possible.
Yoshihide Suga. Japan had previously promised a 26 per cent cut relative to 2013 levels by 2030. Increasing that to 46 per cent requires a huge additional cut to emissions in just nine years.Â
Based on my observations, global media coverage of the Suga-Biden summit meeting in Washington was rather favorable. Walter Russell Mead, for example, wrot