Japan—Turning It Around?

« Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan delivers his policy speech at the lower house of the parliament in Tokyo on January 24.
(Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty Images)

For the past decade and a half, the world has become used to a Japanese economy in the doldrums. Is Prime Minister Kan about to turn that around? By Ron Fraser

 

Following decades of energetic growth after recovering from World War ii, the Japanese economy had peaked by the last decade of the 20th century. Having been the powerhouse of Asia for years, as the previous century closed Japan slid into the doldrums economically.

Japan Deserting Its Postwar Pacifism?

« A Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces’ helicopter flies beside Japanese destroyer Shirane during “Keen Sword,” a U.S.-Japan military exercise in the Pacific Ocean, on December 10.
(TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)

Japan’s National Defense Policy Guidelines, due to be unveiled this month, signal a historic refocusing of the nation’s army.

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Japan: Nationalism on the Rise

« Anti-Chinese protesters, displaying Japanese flags, march in central Tokyo on November 6.
(Tadayuki Yoshikawa/AFP/Getty Images)

Around 5,000 Japanese nationalists assembled in Tokyo on November 6 to demonstrate against China and to protest Tokyo’s cautious approach to a territorial dispute between China and Japan. The protest is the latest signal that China’s expanding economic clout, growing political assertiveness and increasing military might are injecting a surge of nationalism into Japan’s mainstream.