Secretary of State Antony Blinken got to work Wednesday with a warning that the world's eyes were on the United States (US) to see if it can heal deep divisions.Blinken, a veteran diplomat and confidant of President Joe Biden, promised to rebuild morale and respect in a welcome ceremony at the State Department front entrance that was extraordinary for what was lacking – crowds.With COVID-19 raging, Blinken asked that only a bare minimum of employees, all masked, come to see him – and not

Tokyo's governor on Saturday asked Japan's central government to declare a new state of emergency as the country battles a third wave of the coronavirus, with record numbers of new cases.Yuriko Koike, joined by the governors of three neighbouring regions, called for the measure to be imposed in their areas during a meeting with Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of the coronavirus response.Japanese officials have in recent weeks asked restaurants and businesses to close ear

The signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on 15 November, 2020 marks a milestone for East Asian regionalism. It shows ASEAN’s determination to unify existing ASEAN+1 trade agreements and to showcase the bloc’s central role in regional cooperation. As former Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa noted recently, the RCEP was “a response by ASEAN leaders to a series of initiatives that did not provide for ASEAN centrality”.

Newly appointed Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga certainly understands the political importance of continuity, especially in Southeast Asia. Suga recently made a first stop in Hanoi, Vietnam and continued on to his second visit in the region to Jakarta, Indonesia. Both these Southeast Asian countries are seen as key to Japan's “free and open Indo-Pacific,” strategy. There are other reasons for Suga to visit these two countries as well.

Japan and Vietnam agreed to step up security and defence cooperation Monday, reaching an agreement in principle for Tokyo to export defence equipment and technology to the Southeast Asian nation.The deal comes as concerns mount over China's increasing assertiveness in the contested South China Sea, with Beijing expanding its military presence in the region.The pact would allow Japan to export equipment, likely including patrol planes and radar, to Vietnam, according to Japanese news agen

The Quad, a loose strategic coalition of the Following a recent meeting of their top foreign-policy officials in Tokyo, Australia, India, Japan, and the United States (US) are now actively working toward establishing a new multilateral security structure for the region. The idea is not to create an Asian version of NATO, but rather to develop a close security partnership founded on shared values and interests, including the rule of law, freedom of navigation, respect for territorial

The world economy has risen from the depths of the initial COVID-19 plunge. But the recovery has been tepid, uneven, and fragile – and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.Start with the good news.

With the departure of Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, one of the biggest questions facing his successor, Yoshihide Suga, is what to do about Abe’s signature economic-policy plan.

Japan’s new prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, has arrived with a suite of ambitious policy ideas, including plans to digitise government services and revive the country’s regional banks. But he has yet to come up with an overarching theme that strikes a chord with the public.

Japan’s parliament is scheduled to confirm Yoshihide Suga this week as the country’s new prime minister. He will replace Shinzo Abe, who announced his resignation last month for health reasons, after almost eight years in office. Japanese and international observers are now asking whether the Abe government’s economic-policy course (dubbed “Abenomics”) will change significantly under Suga, and if so, how. The answer will have important geopolitical implications.