By Lee Jaesung * On July 8, two gunshots resounded in the streets, shocking the world. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at the age of 67, was shot dead during a campaign for support. There are still many unresolved doubts around him, but one thing that everyone can agree on is that an important giant of Japanese diplomacy of ...
By Michael Roberts * Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kishida comfortably won last October’s general election for the lower house of the Diet for the ruling Liberal Democrats (albeit with a slightly reduced majority). And he is headed for victory in this Sunday’s upper house election, likely to extend the number of seats it holds to 60 out of 125 contested. So ...
By Sakai Tanaka * The main point of the case of the murder of Shinzo Abe, the former Prime Minister, on July 8 was that Abe was the mastermind and fixer who controls the Liberal Democrat Party LDP. Abe retired from the position of Prime Minister two years ago, Yoshihide Suga succeeded him and then Fumio Kishida, who is now ...
By Mehmet Emre Öztürk Shinzo Abe was giant capable the political landscape from behind the curtain His death following an assassination seems prone to change political balances in both domestic and foreign affairs. Abe’s death has already changed the political dynamics within the Liberal Democrat Party LDP. It cannot be dismissed that the assassination has shaken the political centers that ...
By Mehmet Emre Öztürk The Japanese Ministry of Defense has published its Annual White Paper, a report formed by the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” strategy. The Japan-United States (US) alliance is widely covered in the white paper, in addition to subjects such as Chinese coast guard boats, the North Korean missile development program, earthquakes, space and cyber security. The Indo-Pacific ...
“Think Tanks“ are official or private institutions of vital importance in the international policies of imperialist states. Thousands of institutions, from the Hoover Institute to the Smithsonian Institution, from the National Foundation for democracy to the International Relations Department of any university, create ideas to contribute to the state policy of imperialist countries. Perhaps the most vocal of these institutions ...
By Mehmet Emre Öztürk The informal QUAD-Group (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue), comprised of the US, India, Australia and Japan, has held a virtual meeting on presidential level on March 12 in its quest for an Indo-Pacific alliance. The process, described by the US as “historic”, aims to institutionalize the QUAD and create an alliance against China in the Indo-Pacific. The US ...
Lavrov in Damascus On September 7, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Damascus. This was the first visit of Lavrov to Syria since February 2012. As UWI wrote, “in his statements in Damascus, Lavrov emphasized the importance and success of the Astana process and the necessity of focusing on a common goal”. ‘Winning thanks to the Astana process’ – ...
As the situation around Iran continues deteriorating, Japan has taken up an initiative to broker peace and to scale down the tensions between Washington and Tehran. While the situation kept aggravating, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he was heading on a diplomatic mission to Iran. The reports on the Japanese Prime Minister’s forthcoming visit on the background of the reciprocal ...
Recently President Donald Trump, while in Tokyo, said that he would support Shinzo Abe’s efforts to mediate between Iran and the US. Trump also said: “I know that the prime minister and Japan have a very good relationship with Iran so we’ll see what happens.” He added: “Washington was not interested in regime change in Iran. I’m looking to Iran ...