Is the Japanese Revival Imminent?

Twenty-first century Japan has yet to experience a social and political "earthquake" on par with those that have defined modern Japanese history, from the Meiji Restoration of 1868 to Japan's defeat in World War II in 1945. But the tectonic plates of Japanese geopolitics are moving--and fast . . . http://www.stratfor.com/geopolitical-diary/japanese-revival-imminent#axzz36GwxtBqy

Overseas tourists offer boost to Japan

A cheaper yen combined with a boom in middle-class Asian tourism is fuelling Japan's first tourism surplus in 44 years

http://feedly.com/e/rxZK-wvR

China confirms attendance at U.S.-hosted naval exercises in June

BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Monday confirmed that it will participate for the first time in a major U.S.-hosted naval drill this month, sending four ships including a destroyer and frigate, even as deep military distrust persists between the two countries.

http://feedly.com/e/y67g4j4L

China ships 'rammed 1,400 times'

Vietnamese vessels have rammed Chinese ships 1,400 times near a drilling rig, Beijing claims, as tensions over territorial disputes intensify.

http://feedly.com/e/PU6ah8IV

Royal Caribbean shows faith in Hong Kong's Kai Tak Cruise Terminal with new sailings

Royal Caribbean shows faith in Kai Tak Cruise Terminal with new sailings

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Hong Kong's Kai Tek Cruise Terminal: Businesses on a learning curve as tourists sail by

Businesses on a learning curve as tourists sail by

http://feedly.com/e/uNfcQOc7

Japan Q1 GDP rises 1.5 pct q/q, fastest in nearly three years

May 15 (Reuters) - Japan's economy grew 1.5 percent in January-March from the previous quarter, posting its biggest expansion since July-September 2011, as consumer spending jumped ahead of an April 1 sales tax increase, government data showed on Thursday.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/05/15/japan-economy-gdp-idINT9N0N204E20140515

Japan and Russia Look for Common Ground

The recent Russo-Japanese warming of relations has come under pressure during the Ukrainian crisis as Japan seeks to show solidarity with the West and Russia courts Chinese economic cooperation. But neither Tokyo nor Moscow wants to miss the rare opportunity to work together now that each has something the other needs.

Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki denied that Japan would suspend negotiations with Russia over the disputed southern Kuril Islands and a peace treaty, Russia's Itar-Tass reported May 12. Previous rumors indicated that Tokyo would suspend talks temporarily amid the Ukrainian conflict, according to Kyodo News. The latest round of territorial and peace talks began in April 2013 and is part of the larger initiative between Moscow and Tokyo to improve relations for the sake of broader national security and economic interests.

http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/japan-and-russia-look-common-ground

Q&A on anti-China unrest sweeping Vietnam

HANOI - Festering anti-China tensions have erupted in Vietnam with riots at foreign-owned factories after Beijing moved a deep-sea oil drilling rig into contested waters.

Here are some questions and answers on the sudden surge of violence.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/world/05/16/14/qa-anti-china-unrest-sweeping-vietnam

NEW SERIES: What Americans Think About China

Two common American attitudes toward China can be identified from the latest U.S. public opinion surveys published by Gallup and Pew Research Center in the past year.
 
First, most of the Americans surveyed have unfavorable opinions of China as a whole, but do not view the country as a threat toward the United States at the present time.
 
Second, most survey respondents expect China to pose an economic and military threat to the United States in the future, with more Americans worried about the perceived economic threat than the military one. 

http://www.voanews.com/content/new-series-what-american-think-about-china-/1913088.html

Caught on Camera: A New Island in the South China Sea

http://feedly.com/e/c4-tnuC7

Japan Lawmakers Visit Controversial Tokyo War Shrine

http://feedly.com/e/ifpYcvFC 

China Calls for Calm After Koreas Fire Artillery into Ocean

http://feedly.com/e/JdaaWn6E

Friday Asia Update: Top Five Stories for the Week of March 14, 2014

1. Missing Malaysia Airlines flight leaves the fate of 227 passengers shrouded in mystery. Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared Saturday, and its fate has still not been determined nearly a week after it vanished from radar screens. The most recent information indicates that the plane was deliberately flown off course, making a sharp left and flying hundreds of miles toward India’s remote Andaman and Nicobar islands. India has now joined twelve other countries and more than one hundred ships and aircraft in the search mission, which has extended into the Indian ocean. While no cause has been ruled out for the disappearance, officials are increasingly suspecting foul play, possibly by crew or passengers with aviation experience. The search has been plagued by false leads and contradictory reports: an oil slick found in the Gulf of Thailand was dismissed as unrelated; debris spotted by Vietnam turned out to be trash or wood; and the search radius has been repeatedly expanded. Chinese officials have expressed frustration with Malaysia’s lack of transparency throughout the investigation; two-thirds of the passengers on the flight were Chinese nationals. The fact that two passengers were able to board the flight on fake passports has also exposed serious security gaps in Kuala Lumpur’s airport and focused attention on the black market for stolen passports in Southeast Asia. The passengers with fake passports do not seem to have terrorist ties and are likely Iranian nationals attempting to flee to Europe.

2. Chinese exports unexpectedly low. Chinese exports unexpectedly declined 18.1 percent in February from last year, the biggest drop since the global financial crisis. According to China’s General Administration of Customs in Beijing, the sudden decline left a trade deficit of $22.98 billion for the month. The drop in exports reverberated globally, taking a toll on commodity prices and stock markets. At the National People’s Congress, Premier Li Keqiang encouraged the 7.5 percent annual GDP growth target to remain flexible as “severe challenges” lie ahead for the Chinese economy.

3. Philippines accuses Chinese coastguard of preventing delivery of supplies in Ayungin Shoal. Manila has lodged a protest with China after two civilian supply vessels attempting to resupply sailors in the Ayungin Shoal (known as Ren’ai in China) were obstructed by a Chinese coastguard vessel. The Philippines claims the shoal is part of its continental shelf, while China claims much of the South China Sea, including the shoal, for itself. Supplies were later airdropped to the sailors, who occupy a military hospital ship that was intentionally grounded in 1999. The Chinese foreign ministry asserted that the supply vessels in fact carried construction materials to reinforce the Filipino presence on the shoal.

4. North Korea uses front companies, embassies to conduct illegal arms trade, UN report finds. The United Nations Panel of Experts on North Korea found that North Korea continues to trade prohibited goods, including weapons and materials used in nuclear weapons development. The report alleges that front companies and possibly even the North Korean missions to Cuba and Singapore may be involved in the illegal trade activity. The report also refers to foreign suppliers for North Korea’s missile program, and a rocket test-fired into sea in December 2012 was found to contain parts from China, the United States, the former Soviet Union, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. The UN Security Council voted on March 5, 2014, to extend the mandate of the panel of experts by thirteen months, through April 2015.

5. Abe announces Japanese support for the United States in Ukraine crisis. On March 7, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe promised U.S. president Barack Obama that Tokyo would back U.S. efforts to address the Ukraine crisis, including economic sanctions against Russia. Japan’s foreign minister Fumio Kishida said the same day that Japan would also consider giving financial assistance to Ukraine through the International Monetary Fund. The announcements marked a shift in policy, as Tokyo was initially hesitant to back sanctions because of its dependence on Russia for energy imports. Japan also postponed a visit set for this week by Russia’s military chief Valeriy Gerasimov, who was to discuss defense exchanges with Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera. Meanwhile, Shotaro Yachi, head of Japan’s new National Security Council, traveled to Moscow to meet with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and explained Tokyo’s desire to see a peaceful end to the crisis and respect for the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Bonus: North Korea reelects Kim Jong-un with 100 percent of votes. North Korean state media reported that 100 percent of all registered voters went to the polls for this week’s legislative elections. In a country where voting is mandatory and there is only one yes/no option on the ballot consisting of a single candidate, 100 percent of the voters chose to re-elect Kim Jong-un to the country’s parliament. Citizens celebrated this “single-minded solidarity” for Mr. Kim with singing, dancing, and poetry; Kim Jong-un celebrated with his sister, in her first official appearance. These quinquennial elections allow the North Korean state to keep tabs on its population and bolster Kim Jong-un’s right to rule.

http://feedly.com/e/C2MxdE61

Missing MALAYSIAN Airlines jet 'flew off course for an hour at low altitude'

The missing Malaysia Airlines jet flew for an hour off its flight course and at a lower altitude after mysteriously disappearing from civil aviation radar screens in the early hours of Saturday, two senior Malaysian military sources revealed last night.

http://feedly.com/e/e_eOR1Zb

RUSSIA: New chill in Russia's tepid ties with US

Despite dissatisfaction with Moscow’s policy there are hopes that having Russia in the WTO could prevent a trade war being added to the Ukrainian crisis

http://feedly.com/e/yOE07DzY

JAPAN: Fukushima at three - The world has mostly kept its interest in nuclear power

ON MARCH 11th 2011 the world’s fifth most powerful earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Japan. At a magnitude of 9.0, its ferocity shifted the planet 17cm off its axis and pushed Japan’s main island of Honshu 2.4 metres to the east. The tsunami that followed inundated the Fukushima nuclear power plant about 220km from Tokyo, wrecked the backup power generators (some were lifted off their supports; when the water receded they were pulled out to sea). It set off a nuclear meltdown in three of the plant’s reactors. Since that day, the reactors have largely stabilised, but contamination remains a problem. The Japanese authorities and TEPCO, the operator of the plant, have been criticised for failing to disclose accurate information in a timely way. Yet the disaster hasn’t stopped the global interest in nuclear power—especially in developing countries that have untested regulatory and crisis-management systems. After Fukushima, Germany shut all its nuclear reactors. Japan let all of its reactors go idle, and then slowly restarted a few. But the world has done little to establish standards for nuclear disaster-response that builds confidence for the public, or their nation’s neighbours.

http://feedly.com/e/TGUSFzkS

PORT OF BUSAN: Protesters attack employee at Japan's embassy in Busan, South Korea

Anti-Japan protesters assaulted a South Korean employee of the Japanese consulate in Busan in front of the embassy as he tried to take pictures of the protest, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday.

http://feedly.com/e/6cdZUDCH

THAILAND a Hotbed for Fake and Stolen Passports

An Austrian and Italian whose names were on the passenger list of flight MH370 but not on the flight both lost their passports in Thailand, a hotbed for sales of fake identification.

http://feedly.com/e/WwI0i6c7

MALAYSIA AIR Flight MH370: Still searching

LESS than three hours after midnight of March 8th, a Boeing 777-200ER operated by Malaysian Airlines mysteriously vanished from the skies. En route between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing, flight MH370 is still unaccounted for. With 239 souls on board—12 crew and 227 passengers from 14 different countries—it was last heard from about 120 miles of the coast of Malaysia.A big, international search is underway. China, which has put aside controversial territorial claims to the seas around the presumed crash site, is helping. America, too, is sending vessels and investigators, as is Malaysia and Vietnam.What happened? While it is obviously premature to state anything for sure, the few known facts allow us to paint a preliminary picture. There are a some disturbing details: no distress signal or radio call was received by air traffic control stations in Malaysia or Vietnam nor by other aircrafts in the area. This suggest a catastrophic event of some kind or a physical or technical impediment for the crew to communicate. More upsetting is the revelation that at least two of the passengers were not who they seemed to be: their passports turned out to have been stolen in Thailand and their original owners (an Italian and an Austrian) were not on the plane. As other details emerge from the passenger manifest (initially leaked from Beijing Airport, before many of the families have been ...

http://feedly.com/e/8OHogRAX

VIETNAM Says Suspected Fragments of Missing Jet Found

Vietnam says a search plane has found suspected fragments of a missing Malaysian airliner. The fragments, found southwest of Tho Chu Island, are believed to be a piece of an inner door and part of the tail of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

Follow live updates in the stream: http://stream.wsj.com/story/malaysia-airlines-flight-370/SS-2-475558/

5 Things to Know About Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight and Air Safety

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, with 239 people aboard, lost contact early Saturday with the airline shortly into the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Here are five things to know about the flight and air safety.

http://feedly.com/e/qzFafaGU

Countries Put Disputes Aside in Search for Jet

A multinational effort to track down a missing Malaysian airliner on the edge of the South China Sea is turning into a rare example of maritime collaboration between countries embroiled in territorial disputes in the region.

http://feedly.com/e/BoHABS8z

New possible sighting of debris at sea as CHINA sends warships to join search for missing MALAYSIAN Airlines flight

Photographs purporting to show debris in the sea in the area where the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 lost contact have been posted on Chinese social media.

http://feedly.com/e/gATWi422

MALAYSIA: Anwar Ibrahim decision a "bleak day for justice"

The conviction of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on charges of ‘sodomy’ should be quashed, Amnesty International said.

A court in Malaysia today overturned the acquittal of Anwar Ibrahim on politically motivated ‘sodomy’ charges. The court upheld a government appeal against a 2012 High Court decision that cleared Ibrahim of all charges, citing a lack of evidence.

http://feedly.com/e/leAkBN7d

JAPAN: JR East to offer bullet train with footbath

Japan's high-speed bullet train is to offer passengers a chance to soothe their tired feet as they zip through the countryside, in a carriage equipped with footbaths. JR East will launch the service in July, with one carriage on the "shinkansen" bullet train having two 2.4-meter-long tubs facing windows. Bathing…

http://feedly.com/e/Iee_EUtq

Why Malaysia Airlines jet might have disappeared

The most dangerous parts of a flight are takeoff and landing. Rarely do incidents happen when a plane is cruising seven miles above the earth.

http://feedly.com/e/-QrF-q6s

Chinese radar expert has doubts that Malaysian airliner simply 'vanished'

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 could not just "disappear", a Chinese military radar expert said yesterday, and asked whether Vietnamese authorities were withholding crucial information or if staff had "neglected their duty".

http://feedly.com/e/EJ-VOQ0q

'Contact lost' with MALAYSIA plane to CHINA

Malaysia Airlines says it has lost contact with flight MH370 travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

http://feedly.com/e/AWoXHZhL

Friday Asia Update: Top Five Stories for the Week of March 7, 2014

1. Mass stabbing in Kunming, China, leaves thirty-three dead and 130 injured. Eight people armed with knives attacked travelers in a train station in the southwestern city of Kunming on Saturday. Four attackers were shot dead, one was wounded and captured, and three other attackers were apprehended near the border with Vietnam. Though no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, called “China’s 9/11” by Chinese media, early signs suggest that Uighur separatists are the perpetrators. The western province of Xinjiang, home to the the Muslim Uighur minority group, has a tenuous relationship with Han Chinese based on religious, cultural, and linguistic differences. The last attack by Uighur’s against Han occurred in November 2013, when three Uighurs drove an SUV through Tiananmen Square in Beijing, killing themselves and two tourists. These two attacks were especially surprising because they occurred half a country away from Xinjiang, where the vast majority of China’s twenty-two million Uighurs live. The governor of Xinjiang signaled that the Communist Party would crack down on separatist groups in the region.

2. China’s NPC, CPPCC meet, marking one year in office for President Xi Jinping. The National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s parliament, and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country’s top political advisory body, began their annual meeting this week. Though the NPC is seen as little more than a rubber stamp for the Communist Party’s decisions, it signals the state’s priorities for the next year. On the opening day of the Congress, Premier Li Keqiang presented his work report—among its most important points were: China’s growth target would be set at about 7.5 percent; the country’s military budget would increase by 12.2 percent; Beijing would launch “a war on pollution”; and China would expand President Xi’s anti-corruption policies.

3. North Korea test-fires missiles into East Sea. North Korea fired seven short-range missiles from its east coast on March 4, the most recent in a slew of missile tests. Just minutes following the launch, a Chinese passenger plane flying from Tokyo to Shenyang, China, passed through the trajectory of one of the missiles. North Korea launched four short-range missiles on February 27 and another two on March 3. The tests follow the conclusion of annual U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises, though many experts say the launches will not raise tension in the region. The tests have since prompted the UN Security Council on March 5 to extend its sanctions on North Korea through April 2015. Despite its reticence to respond to diplomacy, North Korea has had careful engagement with its neighbors recently, including reunions for separated families with South Korea last month and a visit by the Japanese Red Cross to Pyongyang on March 3 to discuss the repatriation of the remains of Japanese nationals buried in the North. Japanese government officials accompanying the envoy were able to conduct informal talks with North Korean officials.

4. Caroline Kennedy urges Japan, South Korea to mend ties. In an interview with Hiroko Kuniya for the show Close-Up Gendai, which aired on Japan’s national broadcaster NHK, Ambassador Kennedy said that it was up to Japan and South Korea to improve their relations, but that the United States is “happy to help” in any way possible. “The three countries can work together, will work together, and I think these good relations are in everyone’s interests,” Kennedy said. Tensions between Japan and South Korea have been high for some time. Earlier reports had suggested that the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo was reluctant to give NHK an interview with Ambassador Kennedy because of controversial remarks about WWII history made by some of the broadcaster’s board members. Kennedy did reiterate the negative U.S. view toward Prime Minister Abe’s visit to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, but she also praised Abe as a “strong, stable leader” and a “wonderful partner” for the United States.

5. Suicide bomber kills 11 in Pakistan; talks with Taliban resume.Two suicide bombers killed eleven people in Islamabad’s district court complex on Monday, the deadliest terrorist attack in Pakistan’s capital in five years. Ahrar-ul-Hind, an offshoot of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the country’s biggest militant coalition, has claimed responsibility for Monday’s attacks. The attack came days after the Pakistani government and the TTP announced a month-long ceasefire. The ceasefire was supposed to head off a Pakistani military operation against militant strongholds, allowing for the resumption of peace talks between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government and the TTP. Last month, peace talks between the two sides broke down after a Taliban faction killed twenty-three paramilitary soldiers. 

Bonus: Nepal making Mount Everest climbers take out the trash. With climbing season for Mount Everest starting, Nepal’s tourism ministry is enforcing a new rule: clean up after yourself. Climbers must return to base camp with eighteen pounds of garbage, or forfeit a $4,000 deposit. The new regulation is an attempt for Everest to dump its nickname as the “world’s highest garbage dump.” The rule won’t do much about the garbage heaps already on Everest, but it will at least keep the situation from getting worse.