The FT's David Pilling writing in Lunch with the FT -- easily my favorite regular feature in the FT -- interviews Fujiwara Masahiko, mathematician, professor at Ochanomizu University, and author of the bestselling book The Dignity of the State.As Pilling suggests, the book revives Nihonjinron arguments for a new, more uncertain age. As with most …
Author: Tobias S. Harris
Tobias Harris is Japan analyst at Teneo Intelligence. He is the author of a forthcoming biography of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Seen and heard at the Diet
I was in attendance at today's session of the Upper House's Budget Committee, where it was my boss's turn to question the government.I managed to see a line of questioning derived entirely from my own research posed to Prime Minister Abe and Defense Minister Kyuma, which was satisfying -- although the acoustics of the chamber …
Driving a wedge in the alliance
Once again a response to a post deserves a fuller response. Adamu of Mutantfrog Travelogue noted in reply to this post:You keep saying that America is abandoning Japan, but wouldn't a grand nuclear bargain that works be more in Japan's interest than letting the whole thing fall apart over the abduction issue?It's a fair point. …
All going according to plan…but whose plan?
I can't say that I'm surprised to hear that North Korea delayed the start of normalization talks with Japan in Hanoi, right after reports out of New York suggested that the US and North Korea had positive talks.The unfolding of events seems almost too scripted to be real: just as international opprobrium falls on Abe's …
Continue reading All going according to plan…but whose plan?
The problem with history
The Sankei Shimbun's Komori Yoshihisa, editor-at-large based in Washington, DC, illustrates why the congressional comfort women resolution is so disastrous.In response to this NY Times editorial, Komori, in this post, shows the defensiveness of Japanese nationalists -- and why Congress is not in a position to criticize Japan's treatment of its own history.He wrote (my …
Fireworks in Hanoi?
On Wednesday, 7 March, talks in the Japan-North Korea normalization working group are set to resume in Hanoi.I'm not entirely clear on what to expect. Since the six-party agreement last month, Japan has ratcheted up the pressure on North Korea to come clean on the abductions issue -- Abe once again urged North Korea to …
Perfect storm over Taiwan?
At the talk I heard last week by Randall Schriver (discussed here), he referred to the possibility of a "perfect storm" in the dispute between China and Taiwan as 2008 approaches, 2008 being the year in which the US and Taiwan elect new presidents and China hosts its long-desired Olympic Games. He suggested that the …
The ‘comfort women’ issue explodes
The news today is that the Abe Cabinet, while apparently still respecting the 1993 Kono statement on the 'comfort women' issue, will not issue another apology, even if the US Congress passes a resolution calling for Japan to apologize.As suggested by two articles in South Korea's Chosun Ilbo -- found here and here -- Abe's …
Yomiuri on Sunday
A couple articles caught my eye in today's edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun, both of which appear to be unavailable online. (Articles from Sunday's paper never seem to be posted online.)The first was an interview with US Japan hand Michael Green, focused on the "comfort women" resolution, the title of which summarizes the interview fairly …
The muddy waters of the post-Koizumi era
For those who want a general overview of the present state of Japanese politics -- what's changed, what hasn't -- check out this article by Tokyo University professor Kabashima Ikuo and PhD candidate Okawa Chihiro. Published at Japan Echo, a monthly journal that publishes translations of scholarly articles originally written in Japanese, Kabashima and Okawa …
Tobias S. Harris 