When the role of outside powers in Central Asia is considered, Japan is often not among them—despite the fact that it has a unique advantage which has opened the way to considerable success in the areas where Tokyo has employed it. It is an Asian... MORE

As President Xi Jinping said farewell to his host and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the end of his visit to Moscow last month, a few Western media outlets caught the Chinese strongman’s parting words to his good friend on the doorstep of  the Kremlin:... MORE

Introduction In March, at the opening session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC), the top legislature of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) announced an annual defense budget of roughly 1.55 trillion yuan (about $224.79 billion) for fiscal year 2023, which is a 7.2... MORE

Introduction Against the backdrop of the grisly Russia-Ukraine war, the security situation in East Asia may appear conducive to the continuation of the long peace that the region has enjoyed for decades. However, the devastating European war has cast a long shadow eastward. While Russia’s... MORE

While President Xi Jinping has often been criticized by Western politicians, as well as intellectuals inside and outside of China, for restoring quasi-Maoist values, he has at least been consistent in his conservative agenda. On foreign policy, he has never strayed from the Chinese Communist... MORE

Introduction The existential North Korean nuclear and missile threats negatively impact the Asia-Pacific security environment for the United States, South Korea, Japan and Australia. In response, these countries have taken countermeasures to defend themselves against the growing danger from North Korea. As a result, North... MORE

Over the past two months, as the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has rapidly rolled back its strict zero-COVID epidemic prevention policy, COVID-19 has spread rapidly throughout the country. The combination of the PRC reopening its borders to outbound travel on January 8 and the... MORE

Introduction On the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo watched over a video livestream as the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway (HSR) sped through its first trial run between Tegalluar Station and Casting Yard No.... MORE

As the long-running dispute between Moscow and Tokyo over the status of the Kuril Islands (“Northern Territories dispute”) shows, Russian officials and commentators tend to react hysterically to any suggestion that land their government considers part of Russia belongs to anyone else. Some rare exceptions... MORE

On July 8, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated while delivering a speech in Nara, Japan (The Japan Times, July 8). The suspect, 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, who was an ex-member of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, shot the former premier using a homemade improvised... MORE