Following excerpts adapted from Tumultuous Times: Central Banking in an Era of Crisis by Masaaki Shirakawa published by Yale University Press. This is a rare insider’s account of the inner workings of
On 18 August 2023, US President Joe Biden announced a “new history” at a new Camp David Summit of three countries—the United States, Japan and South Korea. The old Camp David Summit
MoreThis week augurs an acceleration of strategic realignments among the big powers amidst growing signs of a new cold war globally with particular focus on the United States’ containment strategy against China
MoreOn Tuesday, three more portraits of Nanjing Massacre survivors went dark at a special “lights out” ceremony to mark the recent passing of those who endured that terrible event. As the colored
More“So many ‘marutas’ died, and the Japanese soldiers were also dissected. I often wonder why on earth Unit 731 had done so many evil things?” asked a Japanese veteran who served at
MoreThere were so many contentious issues at last week’s NATO summit in Vilnius, along with a large cast of colorful characters—Zelensky, Biden, Erdogan, to name a few—to play out the drama that
MoreJapan’s efforts to re-arm in response to escalating threats from China and North Korea are well-known. Less understood are controversial efforts by some in Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to reestablish
MoreDuring the May 2023 Group of Seven (G7) summit, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, near where
MoreThe leaders of the most powerful capitalist empires gathered in Japan over the weekend to hold a summit of the “G7” powers – the United States, UK, France, Canada, Italy, Japan, and
MoreThe Foreign Secretary’s special briefing on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Asia-Pacific tour (May 19-24) dovetailed skilfully into three summit meetings, and brings to mind an institution of the Middle Ages known as the “wandering
MoreHundreds of Japanese people on Tuesday gathered at multiple locations in Tokyo to protest against the government’s plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the
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