Japan ready to take appropriate action on volatile yen

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TOKYO: Japan stands ready to take appropriate steps against excess volatility in the foreign exchange market and is watching currency movements with a great sense of urgency, top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said on Thursday (Oct 13). Japanese authorities stepped into the foreign exchange market last month, selling the dollarContinue Reading

Enter the Butcher of Ukraine

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Over the weekend, Russian military forces bludgeoned towns and cities across Ukraine with artillery and rocket fire, hitting not only military targets but also civilian residences, electrical power facilities, urban streets, shops and even public parks. More than 80 rockets were fired from the Russian-held east, according to reports. It was the most concentrated assault […]Continue Reading

China-Japan relations as cause for hope not despair

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SEOUL – The 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-Japan diplomatic relations did not cross Haruko Satoh’s radar screen. Granted, such occasions are hardly at the top of everyone’s viewing agenda. But Satoh might have been expected to tune in: She is a professor of international relations at the Osaka School of International Public Policy, […]Continue Reading

Europe united on road to its own decline

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In its long history, Europe has rarely been as united as has been during the current Ukraine war. Nearly all European countries support Ukraine, as do their mainstream media. Dissenting views are rare, as are anti-war protests of the kind we saw during the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq.    Equally notable, European policies […]Continue Reading

Bringing South Korea into line with global change

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The regime in Pyongyang has been conducting high-intensity military exercises recently. Diplomatic commentators see this as evidence of an alliance with Russia and China. However, if we look at the trends of South Korea’s military development, we can have a different analysis. South Korea’s apparent willingness to develop its military arsenal may worry the North […]Continue Reading