On the speech of the Prime Minister of Japan to the U.S. Congress
The topic of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s state visit to the U.S., which took place from April 8 to April 14 and was earlier described in the NEO, deserves another discussion. This is in order to dwell in more detail on one of the centerpieces of this unprecedentedly long trip, which was the guest’s speech at a joint session of both houses of Congress…
On some results of the state visit by the Japanese Prime Minister to the United States
The Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida paid a state visit to the US from April 8 to 14, accompanied by the Japanese Foreign Minister and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. The official part of the visit included three events: talks with President Joe Biden, a “state dinner” and a guest address to Congress. Other, unofficial events included lunches with exchanges of gifts, the planting of typical Japanese “sakura” trees and tending to specimens planted in previous years…
Russia in Japanese foreign policy at present. Humanitarian and political aspects
From the very beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, Japan has taken one of the toughest positions towards our country, repeatedly condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine, imposing several sets of sanctions, regularly updating them and adding new positions. For example, on 1 March 2024, Japan once again tightened sanctions against our country, adding 12 more individuals and 36 organisations to the “black list”, including Kalashnikov, Almaz-Antey, Uralvagonzavod, etc…
Japan-Turkmenistan: a long-standing bilateral partnership and a bridge to Central Asian geopolitics?
On 22-23 January 2024, Turkmen Foreign Minister R. Meredow visited Japan. During this trip, meetings were held with the Japanese Foreign Minister, the Ministers of Digital Transformation; Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; Economy, Trade and Industry; representatives of Japanese business, the Director of the Foreign Trade Organisation of Japan and the Head of the Export Credit Organisation of Japan. The leitmotif of the talks was the cooperation…
Japan's fake support for Ukraine
From the very beginning of the Special Military Operation, Japan has taken one of the harshest anti-Russian positions, imposing several sets of sanctions, regularly updating them and adding new ones (curiously, there is currently no postal communication between Russia and Japan). At the same time, Japan has repeatedly condemned our country’s Special Military Operation and emphasised its commitment to fully support Ukraine and the Zelenskyy regime. But is everything so unambiguous?
Japanese prime minister uses relations with DPRK to save his domestic political ratings
Will Fumio Kishida be able to abandon his harsh rhetoric against Pyongyang and strengthen his popularity with Japanese voters, or is he counting on favour from the DPRK leadership? Not even a few months have passed since the Japanese Defence Ministry’s threatening statements to Pyongyang over North Korea’s test launch of a ballistic missile towards the Sea of Japan on January 14 this year. “The DPRK’s actions threaten the peace and security of our country, the region and the world. Such ballistic missile launches violate UN Security Council resolutions and pose a serious problem,”…
Another scandal in Japan’s ruling party may topple the government
The domestic political life of Japan in December 2023 has turned out to be very stormy. Events evolved then according to a scheme that almost completely corresponds to the famous Don Basilio’s “Slander” Aria from The Barber of Seville. At first, leaks about the concealment of some of the funds collected by the two largest factions of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party “fluttered a little bit” in the press. It should be emphasized that there is nothing illegal in the practice of such collections in order to fund political activity. Technically, this is mainly done by selling complimentary tickets…
Japanese Prime Minister's recent tour in Southeast Asian nations
Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan, conducted a second quick tour of the Southeast Asian sub-region from November 3 to November 5. Malaysia and the Philippines were the nations that were visited this time. Tokyo’s priority on fortifying its position in the sub-region as a whole was reaffirmed by the tour, even if specific bilateral concerns were discussed in each of these countries. Tokyo, for its part, views that as a crucial middle link in the larger “south-westward movement” of Japanese foreign policy, which has been noticed for a long time by the NEO…
On the 50th Anniversary of Japan-ASEAN ties
This December will commemorate exactly half a century since Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which comprises ten nations now, nearly every nation in the subregion (with the exception of Papua New Guinea and East Timor), established formal diplomatic ties. Observe that the “issue price” of control is steadily rising at this point in the Big World Game. The subregion is also becoming more significant in Japan’s foreign policy, which is returning to the game as a major player following its defeat in World War II. But let us not forget that the same strategic drive of Imperial Japan to the southwest was the primary cause…
Another “Reformatting” of Japan’s Cabinet of Ministers
In early October, it will be exactly two years since Fumio Kishida became head of the government of Japan. An experienced politician, he had spent almost four years as head of the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs under Shinzō Abe, one of the country’s most prominent statesmen of the entire post-war period. It should be noted that in terms of “longevity” at the highest state post, Kishida is still far away from his former boss (who tragically died a year ago). But even a two-year term of government leadership in the face of Japanese political realities can be defined as “quite a lot.” In the second half…
Tokyo’s annual political charade
On September 14 an international conference was held in Sapporo, the administrative center of the Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido, with the support of the Japanese government. Its subject was the development of tourism to support the cultural heritage of indigenous peoples – in particular, the minority Ainu people, who are the indigenous inhabitants of the Japanese islands of Hokkaido and Honshu. These indigenous people, who typically have pronounced European-like facial features, have for centuries had to defend themselves against the aggressive Yamato minzoku…
On the anniversary of the Japanese empire’s defeat
On September 3 Russia celebrated a new holiday: Victory over the Japanese Empire Day. It was marked as a public holiday in the Soviet Union in 1945-1947, and on April 14, 2020 on the initiative of a number of deputies, the State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted a law changing the date of the Military Commemoration Day marking the end of the Second World War to September 3. This date is particularly significant in the Far East of Russia. For example, the Regional…