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March,
2014 Current Topics |
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More Talk than Walk: Indonesia as a Foreign Policy Actor, February 2014.
Indonesia’s population size, geographic location and economic potential
all suggest that it will play a bigger role in international affairs in
the future than it currently does. The truth is, however, that Indonesia
is unlikely to emerge as a significantly more influential actor over the
next five years in ways that set it apart from other middle powers. If
Indonesia is to achieve great power status, as some observers have
suggested, it will only do so in the much longer term... |
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Lowy |
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Northeast Asia's Turbulent Triangle: Korea-China-Japan Relations,
January 2014.
The modern histories of China, Japan and South Korea were forged by
Japan’s colonisation of China and Korea and the Korean War that divided
the peninsula and saw China on the side of North Korea and Japan on the
side of South Korea. This recent history has left the bilateral
relations on each side of this turbulent triangle strained by a lack of
trust, popular antipathy and unresolved territorial disputes. As noted
in the project’s Beijing workshop, the stalled trilateral free trade
agreement negotiations between the three Northeast Asian neighbours,
launched with great hope in 1997, have been the victim of this
turbulence and strain.... |
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Lowy |
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Cybersecurity by Executive Order, February 2014. On 12
February 2014 the United States National Institute of Standards
& Technology (NIST) released the Framework for Improving
Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, the flagship
accomplishment of the Obama Administration’s 2013 cybersecurity
Executive Order. Just weeks before the White House announced its
executive order, the then Australian Prime Minister Julia
Gillard made an equally exciting declaration introducing the
Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC). One year on, the
contrast between the two efforts is stark.... |
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ASPI |
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Can China and
India Coexist in Myanmar? February 2014.
Daniel Wagner, Chief Executive Officer, and Giorgio Cafiero,
Research Analyst, both with Country Risk Solutions, explain that
"Even if Myanmar's relationship with China does not
fundamentally shift (and we do not expect that it will),
India--and other countries such as the United States and
Japan--offer Naypyidaw greater leverage against Beijing by
emphasizing that Myanmar has other options."... |
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EWC |
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China, India
and Indonesia - Building Trust Amidst Hostility, February 2014.
Vibhanshu Shekhar, Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Peace and
Conflict Studies, New Delhi, explains that “The predominant
culture of strategic autonomy in India and Indonesia seems to be
dictating their economically beneficial and tension-reducing
exercises of cooperation with China.”... |
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EWC |
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Globalization, Infrastructure, and Inclusive Growth, February
2014.
This paper covers threes issues: first, defining and measuring
inclusive growth; second, the relationship between international
trade and inequality; and third, the links between
infrastructure and inequality. Both international trade and
infrastructure make it easier for people to exchange goods and
services and to increase income by allowing specialization,
economies of scale, variety, etc... |
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ADB |
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Rising Inequality in Asia and Policy Implications, February 2014.
This paper looks at the recent trends of rising inequality in
developing Asia, asks why inequality matters, examines the
driving forces of rising inequality, and proposes policy options
for tackling high and rising inequality. Technological change,
globalization, and market-oriented reform have driven Asia's
rapid growth, but have also had significant distributional
consequences... |
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ADB |
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Lessons for Asia from Europe's History with Banking Integration,
February 2014.
As Asia considers greater harmonization and integration of its
financial systems, it would be well-advised to consider the
experience of Europe, particularly the eurozone. There are many
lessons to be drawn from Europe about how to implement such
integration, mostly negative. It is particularly evident that
moving to a currency union had major unanticipated consequences
for the ability to manage integration of financial systems
within the eurozone... |
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ADB |
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How Far Can Renminbi Internationalization Go? February 2014.
The question of how far renminbi internationalization can go has
become a common concern in the international financial
community. This paper argues that the sheer size of the People's
Republic of China's (PRC) trade and the convenience of using the
renminbi for transaction settlements is one contributing factor,
but that exchange rate arbitrage and interest rate arbitrage
matter also... |
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ADB |
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Regional Financial Regulation in Asia, February 2014.
The paper considers experiences of the European Union (EU) and
Asia in regional financial cooperation and regulation and draws
lessons for Asia. The EU represents the most advanced stage of
regional financial integration and regulation in the world
today, and can provide valuable lessons for Asia... |
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ADB |
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Emerging Economies' Supply Shocks and Japan's Price Deflation:
International Transmissions in a Three-Country DSGE Model,
February 2014.
This paper examines the international transmission effects that
a positive supply shock in emerging economies may have on
inflation in developed economies. A three-country dynamic
stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model is constructed to
analyze the impact of a supply shock in an emerging economy, the
People's Republic of China (PRC), on inflation rates in two
developed economies, Japan and the United States (US)... |
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ADB |
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The India–Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement and the Proposed
Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement: A Closer Look,
February 2014.
The paper shows that the FTA has worked in favor of Sri Lanka
but its full potential has not yet been realized due to market
access problems in India, and the lack of supply capacity for
some products in Sri Lanka... |
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ADB |
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Regional Settlement Infrastructure and Currency
Internationalization: The Case of Asia and the Renminbi,
February 2014.
The squeeze in United States dollar liquidity that emerged with
the global financial crisis highlighted the risks inherent in
the current global financial system. Asia was adversely affected
by the crisis not only because of its dependence on trade, but
also because of its heavy reliance on the US dollar for regional
and international transactions... |
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ADB |
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Three Decades of Development Partnership: Royal Government of
Bhutan and Asian Development Bank, Published 2014.
The partnership has promoted power sector development, enhanced
transport networks and rural connectivity, supported rapid
urbanization, strengthened financial systems, laid the
foundation of technical and vocational education and training,
pushed environmental conservation, and encouraged regional
cooperation and trade. |
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ADB |
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Results-Based Management Framework in the Philippines, Published
2013.
This guidebook focuses on the results-based management framework
that is currently being institutionalized in the Philippines. It
begins with an outline of its business model characterizing the
concepts that have been implemented in the Philippines... |
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ADB |
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Pacific Transport Update 2013.
This document provides a summary of the existing portfolio of
transport projects and technical assistance approved and under
implementation in 2013. |
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ADB |
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Pacific Health
Dialog (2010-2011)
now available |
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PHD |
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February,
2014 |
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South Caucasian - People's Republic of China Bilateral Free
Trade Agreement: Why It Matters, January 2014.
H. Hovhanesian and H. Manasyan assess the PRC's FTA strategy,
the potential for regional integration in the South Caucasus,
and the likely impacts of an FTA on the economies of Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Georgia, and the PRC... |
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ADB |
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Explaining Foreign Holdings of Asia's Debt Securities, January
2014.
C. Y. Horioka, T. Nomoto, and A. Terada-Hagiwara find that the
overall increase in foreign holdings of Asian debt securities
since 2000 appears to be driven by relatively stable exchange
rates and the higher risk-adjusted returns on the debt... |
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ADB |
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Can Low Interest Rates be Harmful: An Assessment of the Bank
Risk-Taking Channel in Asia, January 2014.
A. Ramayandi, U. Rawat, and H. C. Tang find the presence of the
risk-taking channel based on a panel of publicly listed bank
data in Asia and concludes that “too low” interest rates lead to
an increase in bank risk-taking... |
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ADB |
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Terms of Trade, Foreigh Direct Investment, and Development: A
Case of Intra-Asian "Kicking Away the Ladder"? December 2013.
K. M. Wacker, P. Großkurth, and T. Lakemann show that FDI has
generally beneficial effects on developing countries’ export
prices, but has negative effects in the case of South Asia... |
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ADB |
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Food Security and Nutrition: The Role of Forests, 2013. With
a growing global population, much of the current discourse on
food security is focussed on increasing and expanding
agricultural production. Much of this expansion is speculated to
be at the expense of natural systems. However, some suggest that
we already grow enough food and food scarcity is primarily
caused by inadequate distribution, a lack of purchasing power
and other non-productive causes. Thus the emphasis on production
alone is not sufficient to guarantee future food security... |
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CIFOR |
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Chinese
Trade and Investment in the Mozambican Timber Industry, 2013.
China’s demand for timber has increased dramatically over the
past 20 years; today more than 90% of Mozambican timber exports
are destined for China. Demand for forest products present both
opportunities and challenges for Mozambique. As the country’s
sixth largest export, timber represents one of the most
important industries and sources of income, yet the intensified
search for resources puts pressure on the sustainable management
of the forests... |
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CIFOR |
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Analysis
of China's Overseas Investment Policies, 2011. In recent
years, in line with China’s Going Out strategy announced in
2000, China’s overseas investment activities have increased
greatly and at increasing rates. By the end of 2009, the total
value of China’s outward foreign direct investment had reached
US$5.6 billion. Policies have played strong supporting roles in
bringing about this trend by facilitating and encouraging
Chinese companies to make overseas investments... |
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CIFOR |
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Socio-Economic Considerations for Land Use Planning: The Case of
Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan, 2013. Understanding the
socio-economic conditions, the drivers for land use change and
economic development, along with cultural and social
characteristics, is essential to ensure that land use decisions
are made that ensure positive economic and social outcomes are
optimised... |
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CIFOR |
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APEC
Outcomes & Outlook 2013/2014, February 2014. Looking ahead
to 2014 and recognizing that traditional growth patterns are
changing, China will host APEC under the theme of “Shaping the
Future through Asia-Pacific Partnership.” APEC will pursue its
agenda through three key priorities during 2014: Advancing
Regional Cooperation, Promoting Innovative Development, Economic
Reform and Growth, and Strengthening Comprehensive Connectivity
and Infrastructure Development. |
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APEC |
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Progress Report on 2011 Baseline Study on Good Regulatory
Practices, February 2014. This 2013 survey of the use of
selected GRPs and comparison with APEC’s 2011 GRP Baseline
Report confirm that APEC economies continue to invest
substantial political and financial resources in improving the
quality of their domestic regulatory regimes. The rate of change
in the use of GRPs has not slowed from 2011 to 2013; rather, it
is accelerating, and there is more attention currently to
improving the application of GRPs to get meaningful results on
the ground. |
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APEC |
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Research
Outcomes: Summary of Research Projects 2013, February 2014.
This report provides the summaries of all research projects that
were undertaken during 2013. |
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APEC |
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APEC, Services, and Supply Chains - Taking Stock of
Services-Related Activities in APEC, January 2014. |
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APEC |
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Start-Up Guide, Building Information Modeling, December 2013.
This Start-Up Guide was developed in collaboration with the
bimSCORE team in support of work on green building by the APEC
Subcommittee on Standards and Conformance (SCSC), through the
multi-year project on the Role of Standards and Conformity
Assessment Measures in Enhancing the Performance and Energy
Efficiency of the Commercial Building Sector. |
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APEC |
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An Emergent US
Security Strategy in Southeast Asia, February 2014.
Marvin Ott, Senior Scholar, and Kenneth Ngo, Research Assistant,
both at the Woodrow Wilson Center, explain that "Game theory
predicts that in a competitive arena with multiple actors,
coalitions will form. In Southeast Asia, we are seeing the
emergence of an incipient coalition in support of US security
strategy."... |
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EWC |
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Afghanistan - Transition to Transformation: A Role for Australia
in Helping Shape Afghanistan's Future, February 2014. The
transformation decade will seek to consolidate and build on the
outcomes of transition to ensure Afghanistan’s future as a
functional, stable and durable state. The Afghanistan National
Security Forces (ANSF) will have the lead responsibility for
national security during transformation. Although transition
still has nearly a year to go, the end-of-2014 scorecard is
expected to be a mix of positives and negatives... |
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ASPI |
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Institute of Southeast Asian
Studies - Trends in Southeast Asia 2013
#01:
China's Economic Engagement with Southeast Asia: Thailand
#02:
Political Islam and Islamist Politics in Malaysia
#03:
China's Economic Engagement with Southeast Asia: Indonesia
#04:
More Change Awaits Vietnam's Political Economy |
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ISEAS |
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International Journal of Korean Studies,
Volume XVII, Number 2, 2013
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IJKS |
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International Journal of Korean Studies,
Volume XVII, Number 1, 2013
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IJKS |
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The People's Republic of China's Growth, Stability, and Use of
International Reserves, January 2014.
In the run-up to the financial crisis, the world economy was
characterized by large and growing current account imbalances.
Since the onset of the crisis, the People's Republic of China
and the United States have rebalanced. As a share of gross
domestic product, their current account imbalances are now less
than half their pre-crisis levels... |
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ADB |
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Determinants of the Trilemma Policy Combination, January 2014.
This paper presents a theoretical framework for policy making
based on the "impossible trinity" or the "trilemma" hypothesis.
A simple optimization model shows that placing more weight in
terms of preference for each of the three open macroeconomic
policies—exchange rate stability, financial market openness, and
monetary policy independence—contributes to a higher level of
achievement in that particular policy... |
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ADB |
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Capital
Market Financing for SMEs: A Growing Need in Emerging Asia,
January 2014.
This paper explores the potential of capital market financing
for SMEs in emerging Asia, reviewing the challenges of existing
SME capital markets and assessing demands on SMEs, regulators,
policy makers, market organizes, securities firms, and investors
for developing an SME market, based on the findings from
intensive surveys... |
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ADB |
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Japan in
East Asia: Challenges and Opportunities for 2014, January 2014.
Kei Koga, Assistant Professor at Nanyang Technical University,
Singapore, explains that "Japan's diplomacy in 2014 requires
strategic patience, and there are three diplomatic steps that
could help achieve it."... |
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EWC |
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Former
Iwakuni Mayor Ihara Reflects on the Problem of US Bases
in Japan, January 2013.
After 9.11, the United States increased its demand for
burden-sharing on the part of allies such as Japan and
South Korea. In East Asia, the importance of the US
presence in both of those countries as a deterrence
mechanism was reinforced as political and military
tensions grew due to factors including the
intensification of China-Japan rivalry and associated
nationalisms, territorial disputes and unsettled
historical issues... |
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APJ |
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Bitter
Soup For Okinawans - The Governor's Year-End Betrayal,
January 2013.
In and around Okinawa, events of unparalleled importance
continue to unfold, with implications for Japan, the
US-Japan and US-Japan-China relationships, and for peace
and democracy generally. As former Governor Ota Masahide
foresaw earlier in the year, 2013 turned out to be “the
worst ever (obviously excluding the utter catastrophe of
1945) for Okinawa.”... |
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APJ |
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"Why on
earth is something as important as this not in the
textbooks?"–Teaching Supplements, Student Essays, and
History Education in Japan, January 2013.
The economic setbacks suffered by Japan in the early
1990s brought with them a sense of social malaise that
has lingered to the present. In recent years, only a
small minority of Japanese believe that their country is
on the right track and while “Abenomics” has public
confidence on a slight upswing, it is far too early to
tell if this will hold... |
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APJ |
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Lavish
Are The Dead: Re-envisioning Japan's Korean War,
December 2013.
In 1957, a young Japanese writer published a collection
of short stories which quickly attracted nationwide
attention. The title of the collection - Shisha no Ogori
- is particularly difficult to render into English, but
has been translated by John Nathan as Lavish Are The
Dead. The writer was Ōë Kenzaburō, and the success of
this, his first published book, was the start of a
career that would ultimately bring him international
fame and a Nobel Prize for literature... |
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APJ |
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Systems
of Irresponsibility and Japan's Internal Colony,
December 2013.
In the wake of the March 11, 2011 earthquake, tsunami,
and nuclear disaster, much has been said about the
character of Japan, and especially about Tōhoku and its
people. In the early weeks and months, the exceptionally
good behavior of an overwhelming majority of Japanese in
the face of a disaster of almost unthinkable magnitude
was the object of much admiration... |
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APJ |
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The
Uncertain Future of a "New Type" of US-China
Relationship, December 2013.
President Xi Jinping’s call for a “new type of
great-power relationship” in meetings in 2013 with
President Obama raises important questions about the
future of US-China relations. On the surface, it
appeared that the two leaders were on the same page. At
the June summit, Obama agreed with Xi that “working
together cooperatively” and bringing US-China relations
“to a new level” were sound ideas... |
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APJ |
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Japan's
Designated Secrets Protection Law Would Foreclose
Criticisms of the Government, December 2013.
On December 6, 2013, Japan’s Diet (national assembly)
passed a controversial Designated Secrets Protection
bill, having rushed it through both chambers in barely a
month... |
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APJ |
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Just
Gas? Smart Power and Koizumi's Anti-Nuclear Challenge,
December 2013.
Japan’s former Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro has
repeatedly called for current Prime Minister Abe Shinzo
to make an explicit decision to get out of nuclear
power. Koizumi’s full-scale press conference on this
matter, held on November 12 in front of 350 journalists,
shook up the Abe cabinet... |
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APJ |
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Back to
the Future: Shinto, Ise and Japan's New Moral Educatio,
December 2013.
Immaculate and ramrod straight in a crisp black suit,
Japan’s education minister, Shimomura Hakubun, speaks
slowly and deliberately, like a schoolteacher. His brow
creases with concern when he talks about Japan’s
diminished place in the world, its years of anemic
economic growth and poorly competing universities.
Mostly, though, he appears worried about the moral and
spiritual decline of the nation’s youth... |
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APJ |
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The Rage
of Exile: In the Wake of Fukushima, December 2013.
Present government policy is to maintain the status of
Nagadoro as a no-go zone for at least another four
years. Among the 250 inhabitants is Shoji Masahiko, who
until the nuclear disaster supported his wife and four
children as a part-time farmer and part-time carpenter.
In March of this year, Masahiko handed me the document
which, after an inexcusable delay, I have now translated
below. The Japanese original follows... |
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APJ |
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Marines,
Missiles, and the Iron Lady: The Military Leg in Japan's
Ocean Strategy, December 2013.
The complex situation in East Asia and the wider
Pacific-Indian Ocean Region is prompting governments to
deploy a full range of tools, from economic diplomacy to
humanitarian relief operations to declarations of
exclusive air space, in their search for a balance
between what they consider to be their key national
interests and their shared wish to avert open conflict... |
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APJ |
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The
Asia-Pacific in the Eye of Super-storms, December 2013.
Super-storm Haiyan made a devastating landfall in the
east-central Philippines on November 8, leaving behind a
trail of death and destruction that has draped the whole
country in a pall of grief. The Philippines has since
been reeling from this disaster. The typhoon buffeted
the most vulnerable of Filipinos, 40% of whom live below
the poverty line (i.e., $1.25 a day)... |
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APJ |
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Distorting Democracy: Politics by Public Security in
Contemporary South Korea, December 2013.
Although a full year has not elapsed since the election
of South Korea's President Park Geun-hye, there are
already troubling signs that her term as President is
going to be a difficult period for both the health of
Korean democracy and for liberal and progressive
political forces... |
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APJ |
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The
Formation and Principles of Count Dürckheim's Nazi
Worldview and his interpretation of Japanese Spirit and
Zen, December 2013.
Japan, the “yellow fist”, as he called the nation
in “Mein Kampf”, caused Adolf Hitler a considerable
headache. In his racist foreign policy he distrusted the
Asians in general and would have preferred to increase
European world supremacy by collaborating with the
English Nordic race... |
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APJ |
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The
Harbin An Jung-Geun Statue: A Korea/China-Japan
Historical Memory Controversy, December 2013.
The Chinese and South Korean governments have recently
announced the building of a new monument to An Jung-Geun
in Harbin. An is most famous for his 1909 assassination
of Itō Hirobumi, a high Japanese official who framed the
Meiji constitution, served as prime minister, and is
credited with being one of the great modernizers of the
Meiji period... |
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APJ |
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Environmental Restoration of Former US Military Bases in
Okinawa, November 2013.
US military bases south of Kadena are slated to be
returned to Okinawa, although that is only to happen at
various times up to “2028 or later,” and their
environmental restoration is an important local issue... |
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APJ |
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Introduction: The Continued Saga of the Henoko Base and
Japan-US-Okinawa Relations, November 2013.
Okinawa may have temporarily receded from the headlines,
but the contradictions and conflicts that have roiled it
for most of the post-War era, in acute form now for 17
years, have not been resolved... |
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APJ |
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Workshop to Support the Development of National Lighting Design
Centers in APEC Region, December 2013. This report presents
the outcome from presentations and discussions, and is organized
in three themes 1) The opportunities of lighting design research
for sustainable development 2) Research focus areas in APEC
region 3) Recommendations on a model for effective lighting
design center as well as a framework on next steps for the
development of national lighting design centers in interested
APEC economies... |
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APEC |
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Funds Flow and Financial Control Analysis of the Student
Financial Assistance Programs (StuFAP), February 2014 |
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PIDS |
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Millennium Development Goals Scenarios to 2015 and
Beyond: An Integrated Micro-Macro Modelling Approach,
February 2014 |
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PIDS |
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Schooling Outcomes in the Philippines, 1988-2008:
Impacts of Changes in Household Income and the
Implementation of the Free Public Secondary Education
Act (RA 6655), February 2014 |
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PIDS |
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Industry-Academe Collaboration for Research and
Development, January 2014 |
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PIDS |
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Assessment of Student Financial Assistance Programs
(StuFAP) Policies, Procedures, and Control Mechanisms,
January 2014 |
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PIDS |
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Environmental Aspects of a Potential
Philippines-European Union Free Trade Agreement, January
2014 |
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PIDS |
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Enhancing Supply Chain Connectivity and Competitiveness
of ASEAN Agricultural Products: Identifying Choke Points
and Opportunities for Improvement, January 2014 |
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PIDS |
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Disasters, Poverty, and Coping Strategies: The Framework
and Empirical Evidence from Micro/Household Data -
Philippine Case, January 2014 |
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PIDS |
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Prospects for a Philippines-European Union Free Trade
Agreement: Implications for Agriculture, January 2014 |
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PIDS |
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An Analysis of the Philippine Offensive and Defensive
Interests in the Non-agricultural Sector: Inputs to the
Philippines-European Union Free Trade Agreement, January
2014 |
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PIDS |
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The Potential Impacts of a Free Trade Agreement with the
European Union on the Philippine Fisheries Sector,
January 2014 |
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PIDS |
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Growth and Redistribution: Is there 'Trickle Down'
Effect in the Philippines? January 2014 |
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PIDS |
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Financing Infrastructure in the Philippines: Fiscal
Landscape and Resources Mobilization, January 2014 |
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PIDS |
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Using the Social Rate of Discount in Evaluating Public
Investments in the Philippines, January 2014 |
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PIDS |
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How Should We Move Forward in Customs Brokerage and
Trade Facilitation? January 2014 |
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PIDS |
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Economic Growth Must Translate to Better Health
Outcomes, October-December 2013 |
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PIDS |
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Social Protection Policies on Spotlight as Manila Hosts
14th GDN Meet, July-September 2013 |
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PIDS |
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Journal of Bhutan
Studies, Volume 27, Winter 2012 |
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Bhutan |
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January,
2014 |
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Hong
Kong: High Frequency Macroeconomic Forecasts Current
Quarter Model: 2014Q1, January 2014.
Various developments will
likely benefit Hong Kong economy in 2014. European
economies are getting out from the trough, reverting
back to growth. Along with the US’s steady recovery, US
unemployment rate gradually stripped down to 7% in
November, 2013. China’s output growth is expected to
maintain at around 7-8% this year. Japan seems
successfully escaping from the negative inflation trap.
These developments will likely add to the demand for
Hong Kong’s exports of goods and services. The major
uncertainty remains how fast the central banks around
the world will raise their interest rates as their
economic growths resume. On the whole, we expect Hong
Kong’s economic growth to lie between 3.3 to 4.1%, and
inflation to be around 3.8% in 2014. |
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HKU |
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MAS Financial Stability Review, December 2013. The Monetary
Authority of Singapore (MAS) conducts regular assessment of
risks and vulnerabilities arising from developments in Singapore
and the global economy, and assesses their implications on the
soundness and stability of Singapore’s financial system. The
analysis and results are contained in the Financial Stability
Review (FSR), which aims to contribute to a greater
understanding among market participants, analysts and the public
on issues affecting Singapore's financial system. |
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MAS |
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MAS Survey of Professional Forecasters, December 2013. The
MAS Survey of Professional Forecasters provides a summary of
forecasts of Singapore's key economic indicators by economists
and analysts. The survey is conducted quarterly following the
release of economic data for the previous quarter by the
Ministry of Trade and Industry. |
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MAS |
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Governance and Development Outcomes in Asia, January 2014.
This paper finds that the benign relationship between governance
and development is weaker for Asian countries for several of the
development indicators. It also learns that the key mechanism by
which governance affects development is by increasing the
mobilization of domestic resources and by increasing the
effectiveness with which these resources are spent on social
sectors. Along with the fact that governance quality is lower in
Asia than other regions of the world (except sub-Saharan
Africa), this suggests that improvements in governance along
with the strengthening of the mechanisms by which governance
affects social development can deliver clear gains in
development outcomes in developing Asia. |
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ADB |
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A Factor-Augmented Vector Autoregression Analysis of Business
Cycle Synchronization in East Asia and Implications for a
Regional Currency Union, January 2014.
Debate continues over whether a monetary or currency union will
be a viable alternative to the current exchange arrangements in
East Asia. This paper adds to the literature by assessing the
level of business cycle synchronization among 10 major East
Asian economies which is considered a key precondition for a
regional currency union. Unlike previous studies, this paper
employs a factor-augmented vector autoregression model that
characterizes a large set of 62 foreign and domestic variables
simultaneously. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Issues for Renminbi Internationalization: An Overview, January
2014.
This paper finds that much progress has been made on RMB
settlements for trade involving the People's Republic of China (PRC)
and on RMB-denominated bond issuance in Hong Kong, China, but
that RMB internationalization is still limited due to capital
account controls. It argues that a high degree of RMB
internationalization requires significant capital account
liberalization, which in turn would call for greater exchange
rate flexibility so that the central bank can enjoy monetary
policy autonomy... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Will History Repeat Itself? Lessons for the Yuan (RMB), January
2014.
For many observers, internationalization is the yuan's manifest
destiny and a by-product of the remarkable economic success of
the People's Republic of China (PRC). But is such confidence
warranted? Recent history has seen the emergence of other
currencies that were also expected, at least for a while, to
attain wide, growing cross-border use. These included the
deutsche mark (DM), the Japanese yen, and the euro (successor to
the DM)... |
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ADB |
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Innovation,
the "Third Arrow" and US-Japan Relations, January 2014. Sean
Connell, Japan Studies Visiting Fellow at the East-West Center
in Washington, explains that "It is valuable to consider the
potential impacts these strategies have not only for Japan, but
also their interconnectivity with the US economy at a time when
both countries face intensifying global competitive pressure." |
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EWC |
|
|
Creating
Korea's Future Economy: Innovation, Growth, and Korea-US
Economic Relations, January 2014. The
Korean government's "creative economy" agenda reflects growing
consensus that Korea's future growth and prosperity depends on
its ability to become a global leader in developing and
commercializing innovative new products, services, and business
models. To succeed, the Korean government must address
regulatory, structural, educational, and cultural obstacles that
have constrained Korea's ability to fully utilize its innovative
capacities... |
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EWC |
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Highlights of Virginia Review of Asian Studies
2013, No.2 (Full
Coverage)
Chinese Politics: Domestic And
External
Russo-Japanese War
Vietnam War
|
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VRAS |
|
|
The US
Military Presence in Australia: Asymmetrical Alliance
Cooperation and its Alternatives, November 2013.
Through the ANZUS alliance, Australia, like Japan and
South Korea, has been a key part of the United States
“hub-and-spokes” Asia-Pacific alliance structure for
more than sixty years, dating back to the earliest years
of the Cold War and the conclusion of post-war peace
with Japan. An historical chameleon, the shape of the
alliance has continually shifted... |
|
APJ |
|
|
Hard
Times in Fukushima, November 2013.
With the third anniversary of Fukushima’s triple
meltdown approaching, stories of incompetence and
corruption in the nuclear cleanup are rife. A team of
Reuters’ reporters working in Japan has researched
working conditions at Fukushima Daiichi and
decontamination jobs outside the plant. Their findings
are shocking... |
|
APJ |
|
|
Miyazawa
Kenji's Prophetic Green Vision: Japan's Great
Writer/Poet on the 80th Anniversary of His Death,
November 2013.
When Miyazawa Kenji was writing his stories and poems
nearly a century ago, Japan was a country with a
two-pronged mission: to become the first non-white,
non-Christian nation to create a modern prosperous
state... |
|
APJ |
|
|
D.T.
Suzuki, Zen and the Nazis, October 2013.
The always contentious, sometimes highly emotional,
debate over D.T. Suzuki’s relationship to Japanese
fascism continues unabated. Among other things this is
shown by reader reactions to a recent article in Japan
Focus entitled “Zen as a Cult of Death in the Wartime
Writings of D.T. Suzuki". This debate can only intensify
by the further assertion of a wartime relationship
between D.T. Suzuki and the Nazis or, more precisely, a
positive or sympathetic relationship between Suzuki and
the Nazis. This article, in two parts, will explore that
possibility though conclusive proof of such a
relationship will not be included until the second
part... |
|
APJ |
|
|
A Tale
of Two Decades: Typhoons and Floods, Manila and the
Provinces, and the Marcos Years, October 2013.
In the second half of the twentieth century,
typhoon-triggered floods affected all sectors of society
in the Philippines, but none more so than the urban
poor, particularly the esteros-dwellers or shanty-town
inhabitants, residing in the low-lying locales of Manila
and a number of other cities on Luzon and the Visayas.
The growing number of post-war urban poor in Manila,
Cebu City and elsewhere, was largely due to the policy
repercussions of rapid economic growth and
impoverishment under the military-led Marcos regime... |
|
APJ |
|
|
Can
Abenomics Cope With Environmental Disaster? October 2013.
An important and little noted component of Abenomics,
Japan's information and communications technology (ICT)
growth strategy propounded on June 14 2013, ostensibly
aims at the evolution of a new model of efficient,
resilient and green urban and rural infrastructures.
General Electric’s leadership in applying ICT, or the
"Industrial Internet," to its power systems shows that
what you can monitor, you can manage, and that it is
possible to realize significant efficiencies as well as
innovate other capacities such as predictivity... |
|
APJ |
|
|
Those
Restless Little Boats: On the Uneasiness of Japanese
Power-Boat Gambling, October 2013.
Gambling fascinates, because it is a dramatized model of
life. As people make their way through life, they have
to make countless decisions, big and small,
life-changing and trivial. In gambling, those decisions
are reduced to a single type – an attempt to predict the
outcome of an event. Real-life decisions often have no
clear outcome; few that can clearly be called right or
wrong, many that fall in the grey zone where the outcome
is unclear, unimportant, or unknown. Gambling decisions
have a clear outcome in success or failure: it is a
black and white world where the grey of everyday life is
left behind... |
|
APJ |
|
|
A New
State Secrecy Law for Japan? October 2013.
The last major change to Japan’s secrecy law was made in
2001 when the Diet revised the Self-Defense Forces Law (jietai-ho)
to include a new provision protecting information
designated as a “defense secret” (boei himitsu). During
the extraordinary Diet session that opens on October 15,
the Abe administration plans to submit a “Designated
Secrets Protection” bill (tokutei himitsu hogo hoan) to
the Diet with the goal of strengthening Japan’s secrecy
regime... |
|
APJ |
|
|
"Data
Will Change ICT," But Will it Change the Abe Regime?
October 2013.
This article focuses on the content and implications of
a fascinating and inspiring October 1 presentation by
Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
(MIC) at Aizuwakamatsu City, a smart city project
involving just over 130,000 residents in Fukushima
Prefecture, the area battered by the 3.11 triple
disaster of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown... |
|
APJ |
|
|
Fukushima: Life and the Transnationality of Radioactive
Contamination, October 2013.
When Fukushima 1 Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) was torn
apart by several explosions, whether due to technical
failings in correspondence with the earthquakes, tsunami
or a combination of both, it not only dispersed
radioactive contaminant but also exposed the bonds
connecting people’s lives with nuclear power. Over the
two and a half years since then, the corruption,
inadequacies and mendacities at the centre of the
sovereign power structure that has prevailed in Japan
since 1945 have become ever more visible... |
|
APJ |
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|
The
Okinawan Diaspora in Japan at War, October 2013.
When the Japanese government abolished the Ryukyu
Kingdom, absorbing it into Japan as Okinawa Prefecture
in 1879, most Okinawans on the mainland were merchants
of locally grown and handcrafted goods. Large-scale
migration began around 1900 with the development of
Japan’s modern textile industry, centered in Greater
Osaka. Thousands came from the nation’s poorest
prefecture, mostly young women and teenage girls from
farming villages, to work under contract in factories... |
|
APJ |
|
|
Now On
My Way to Meet Who? South Korean Television, North
Korean Refugees, and the Dilemmas of Representation,
October 2013.
In 2011, the recently established South Korean
broadcasting network Channel-A launched Ije mannareo
gamnida (Now on My Way to Meet You), a program whose
format brings together a group of a dozen or more female
talbukja (North Korean refugees)2 on a weekly basis.
These women interact with host Nam Hui-seok, an
additional female co-host (or, in the earlier episodes,
two), and a panel composed of four male South Korean
entertainers... |
|
APJ |
|
|
A View
from the Ninth Floor, October 2013.
Once upon a time I was a minor diplomat. My office was
in the political section of the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.
To get to my office, depending on who was protesting us,
sometimes having to scurry around an unsmiling phalanx
or two of tall Japanese policemen with long wooden
batons,.. |
|
APJ |
|
|
The
Falsified War on Terror: How the US Has Protected Some
of Its Enemies, October 2013.
Before World War Two American government, for all of its
glaring faults, also served as a model for the world of
limited government, having evolved a system of
restraints on executive power through its constitutional
arrangement of checks and balances. All that changed
with America’s emergence as a dominant world power, and
further after the Vietnam War... |
|
APJ |
|
|
Mission
Impossible. What Future Fukushima? September 2013.
Across much of Fukushima’s rolling green countryside
they descend on homes like antibodies around a virus,
men wielding low-tech tools against a very modern enemy:
radiation. Power hoses, shovels and mechanical diggers
are used to scour toxins that rained down from the sky
nearly 31 months ago. The job is exhausting, expensive
and, say some, doomed to failure... |
|
APJ |
|
|
The
Spectre Of U.S. Military Defoliants/Herbicides Buried In
Okinawa, September 2013.
As accusations and denials swirl regarding the burial of
herbicides employed by the U.S. military in Vietnam
during that war, there are irrefutable facts that seem
not to have been considered in their true context.
Denials of such burials by the U.S. military on land
that was then part of Kadena Air Base on Okinawa by Dr.
Alvin Young, a hired consultant and purported expert on
military herbicides, and the U.S. Department of Defense
are disingenuous at the very least, and at worst a
blatant cover-up of historical realities... |
|
APJ |
|
|
Okinawa
Dumpsite Offers Proof of Agent Orange: Experts Say,
September 2013.
Two leading Agent Orange specialists have weighed in on
the recent discovery of 22 barrels buried on former
military land in Okinawa City.1 Richard Clapp, professor
emeritus at Boston University School of Public Health,
and Wayne Dwernychuk, the scientist previously in charge
of identifying defoliant contamination in southeast
Asia, likened the levels of dioxin contamination in
Okinawa City to dangerous hot-spots in Vietnam where the
U.S. military had stored toxic defoliants during the
1960s and ‘70s... |
|
APJ |
|
|
Cooking
the Books: The Federal Bureau of Narcotics, the China
Lobby and Cold War Propaganda, 1950-1962, September 2013.
As influential contributors to national policy,
intelligence professionals inevitably face strong
political and bureaucratic pressures to shape their
assessments to fit official or factional policy. In the
modern era, such pressures have contributed to costly,
even disastrous, escalations of the Vietnam War, the
arms race, and, most notoriously, Washington’s conflict
with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq... |
|
APJ |
|
|
The
Trans-Pacific Partnership and Its Critics: An
introduction and a petition, September 2013.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement is a
proposed trade pact that Japan is currently negotiating
with Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico,
New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and
Vietnam (as of September 2013). The TPP aims to increase
the liberalization of economies in the Pacific region
through abolition of tariffs on trade as well as
reregulation... |
|
APJ |
|
|
Reading
Volcano Island: In the Sixty-fifth Year of the Jeju 4.3
Uprising, September 2013.
I was eight or nine when M samchon (“Uncle M”) arrived
at our house in Japan on one of his regular late-night
visits. In fact, it seemed as if he chose to visit at
this hour, as if he was hiding from something or
someone. Although he was not really related to us, he
came from the same part of Korea, Jeju Island, and we
referred to him using the term samchon, a Jeju term used
when addressing uncles and aunts. He spoke in the Jeju
tongue, which was unlike any of the other versions of
Korean that I had heard at that time... |
|
APJ |
|
|
Japan Is Back: Unbundling Abe's Grand Strategy, December 2013.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is determined to keep Japan a tier-one power
in Asia and the world. In this publication, prominent US Asia watcher
and Lowy Institute nonresident fellow Mike Green examines changes to
Japan’s economic and defence policies and argues that Japan needs help
in resisting possible Chinese coercion, refining its own foreign policy
narrative and seeking a stable relationship of reassurance with Beijing. |
|
Lowy |
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|
Hmong Studies
Journal,
Vol.
14, 2013 |
|
HSJ |
|
|
APEC Energy Statistics 2011. Published
November 2013 (Full
Report) covering:
-
Background Information on The APEC Energy Statistics
-
Overview of The APEC Energy Situation
- Member
Tables
APEC Region,
Australia,
Brunei Darussalam,
Canada,
Chile,
China,
Hong Kong,
Indonesia,
Japan,
Korea,
Malaysia,
Mexico,
New Zealand,
Papua New Guinea,
Peru,
Philippines,
Russia,
Singapore,
Chinese Taipei,
Thailand,
USA,
and
Viet Nam.
|
|
APEC |
|
|
APEC Energy Handbook 2011, November 2013.
The APEC Energy Handbook 2011 is a handy, pocket-sized summary
of key energy data and a supplement to APEC Energy Statistics
2011, which has been released in December 2013. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Report on APEC Advanced Training on Marine Spatial Planning for
the Pacific Rim, December 2013.
The objectives of project seek to:
Enhance the capacity building of the development, implementation
of MSP for the Asia Pacific region by sharing experiences and
best practices of MSP; Understand the marine spatial planning
process design & influence on successful implementation,
including the question of scale and scope, the topdown &
bottom-up approaches etc... |
|
APEC |
|
|
Sustainable Intermodal Transportation Network Using Short Sea
Shipping: 2nd Phase of Short Sea Shipping Study to Improve
Intermodal Efficiency and Reduce Pollution, Congestion, Fuel
Costs and Green House Gas Emissions, December 2013.
This new phase of the study intends to achieve two goals: (1)
Develop a comprehensive intermodal transportation network model
to enhance more seamless, efficient and effective
interconnectivity among various modes, while reducing pollution,
congestion, noise and other externalities; and (2) Address the
issue of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation
sources to better comply with upcoming regulations on
international shipping of the International Maritime
Organization (IMO) and surface transportation modes of the Kyoto
Protocol. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Agricultural Statistics Best Practice Methodology Handbook,
November 2013.
This handbook provides guidelines for implementing best
practices in agricultural surveys as presented in the FAO’s
Global Strategy and for addressing many of the shortfalls
revealed by Best Practices study. The handbook draws heavily on
FAO literature and the FAO’s database of agricultural
statistics, with emphasis on ways to achieve best practices in
agricultural statistics and improve the coverage, consistency
and quality of published data on food and agriculture in all
APEC economies. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Best Practices in Agricultural Statistics in APEC Member
Economies, November 2013.
This baseline study of agricultural statistics investigated the
websites of APEC economies to determine if key information is
being provided. The Global Strategy’s best practices served as
the main guide for the study and its framework relating to the
economic, social, and environmental dimensions of agriculture. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Development through Empowerment: Delivering Effective Public
Services - A Literature Review, December 2013.
This paper reviews the channels through which empowerment may
improve the efficiency and quality of public service delivery,
particularly in developing Asia. Departing from a macro
perspective, the author focuses and revisits microeconomic
evidence for three broad measures aimed at empowering the poor:
empowerment through voice, empowerment through exit, and
empowerment through information. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Energy Access and Energy Security in Asia and the Pacific,
December 2013.
This paper provides an in-depth analysis on the current state of
energy poverty in Asia and the prospects and prescriptions for
advancing energy affordability and access. Lack of access to
electricity and modern cooking fuels constitutes energy poverty.
Access to modern energy requires improved technologies and
financing instruments and sources. The pro-poor public–private
partnership model is one useful vehicle for raising capital to
finance projects. Five factors appear to be necessary in
combination for programs and partnerships to successfully
promote energy access and eradicate energy poverty: selecting
appropriate technology, promoting community participation,
emphasizing maintenance and service, coupling service with
incomes, and building local capacity. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Different Models for Regional Integration: Lessons from Total
Factor Productivity in Europe, December 2013.
The European experience offers three possible models for
regional integration: a free trade arrangement, a single market,
and a common currency area. This paper examines the effect of
regional integration on total factor productivity to assess the
long-run growth implications of each model. The findings suggest
that joining a regional grouping changes the way participating
economies grow. Of the three models, the free trade arrangement
is found to be the most effective in promoting intra-regional
dependence on R&D spillovers. The other two models are
associated with largely negative windfall effects on total
factor productivity. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Painting Our Green Future: Visions of the Environment by
Children, Published 2013.
Through this book, children are given the opportunity to remind
everyone that people are caretakers of this planet. It also aims
to help people understand the 3Rs concept—reduce, reuse, and
recycle—and how people, as responsible citizens, can help build
greener and more livable communities in Asia. Descriptions of
the paintings were translated to English from the original
Chinese text. Participating students were from the five counties
of Altay Prefecture—Burjin, Fuhai, Habahe, Jimunai, and Qinghe. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Maximizing Access to Energy for the Poor in Developing Asia,
Published 2013.
Despite years of sustained economic growth and enormous
technological progress, energy poverty in the Asia and Pacific
region remains at unacceptably high levels. Addressing energy
poverty is an ADB priority. This publication highlights recent
and ongoing projects which contribute towards that goal, through
focused efforts and innovative solutions aim to bring the
benefits of access to modern energy to all. |
|
ADB |
|
|
ADB-AFD Cofinancing Guide, Published 2013.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Agence Française de
Développement (AFD) have had a long history of cooperation.
Since 2010, this cooperation has intensified based on a
programmatic approach and ADB and AFD each aim to provide $1.3
billion of cofinancing to a joint pipeline from 2013 – 2016. The
key to success is alignment and harmonization. This Guide serves
as a practical reference manual outlining ADB’s and AFD’s
internal arrangements to guide staff on cofinancing, and to
synchronize their work accordingly. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Gender Equality and the Labor Market: Cambodia, Kazakhstan, and
the Philippines, Published 2013.
This report comprises a gendered analysis of labor markets,
policies, and legislation in each country and provides
recommendations for legislation and policies that have the
potential to expand or improve employment and work opportunities
for women in specific sectors. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Good Global Economic and Social and Practices to Promote Gender
Equality in the Labor Market, Published 2013.
Increasing job opportunities and decent work for women are
essential for advancing economic and social development in
countries, because many women continue to experience gender
inequalities at work. An analysis of strategies to counter
gender discrimination and promote equality between men and women
shows how a combination of good practices in law and in social
and economic policy can improve equitable employment
opportunities, remuneration, and treatment for women and men at
work. This report provides some examples of good global economic
and social practices to reverse unequal labor market outcomes
for women and realize their economic potential to the full. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Tool Kit on Gender Equality Results and Indicators, Published
2013.
Development practitioners can use this tool kit to ensure that
gender perspectives are incorporated into development
initiatives, and to monitor and evaluate gender equality
results. The tool kit presents a menu of gender equality
outcomes, results, and indicators that may be selected or
adapted by users. While the tool kit focuses primarily on the
sectors and strategic priorities of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
and Australia's aid program, it is designed for a wider audience
of development policy makers, planners, implementers, and
evaluators. The tool kit will assist specialists in particular
sectors to identify gender equality results and indicators; it
may also be used by gender specialists who work across a range
of sectors. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Maximizing Environmental Benefits and Climate Proofing Transport
Projects, Published 2013.
Resilient transport is vital to the social and economic
well-being of citizens across Asia and the Pacific. At the same
time, transport is responsible for a number of negative impacts
on the environment, including greenhouse gases, air pollution,
noise, vibration and biodiversity losses. The Asian Development
Bank (ADB) recognizes the increasing urgency to achieve net
environmental benefits as well as ensuring climate resilience of
new investment projects in the transport sector. The Climate
Change and Environment Advisory Team of the Transport Community
of Practice conducted a training workshop in October 2013 to
address the challenges posed by methodological difficulties,
resource constraints and limited capacity of ADB staff working
on environment and climate change in the transport sector. |
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ADB |
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