In an update to the previous post, Russia is already accusing China of trying to fix market prices for the new Skovorodino-Daqing. That’s very shocking, I know. Business Insider posted an article stating that the Russian government owned pipeline company Transneft is not only accusing the Chinese National Petroleum Company (CNPC) of violating the terms […]
Tokyo said yesterday that it will announce a plan to join the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction at the Group of Eight developed countries’ summit in late May in Deauville, France. The government is expected to instruct the justice and foreign ministries to develop necessary bills to have Japan […]
Of the 65 volunteer-staffed disaster relief operation centers in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, 56 are restricting the participation of volunteers. Some are allowing only local residents to volunteer at the centers. The restriction is due to the inability to accommodate large numbers of volunteers, as well as concerns of increased traffic due to the […]
In the last installment of the two part “Trading with the Enemy” Series, this blog looked a serious issues of contention affecting Sino-American trade-relations, cyber-espionage and hacking. Now we will examine a little discussed area of discomfort, trade between China and it’s very large northern neighbor, Russia. Over the last two decades, the Sino-Russo “Cold […]
Almost a year ago, I enthusiastically wrote about the recognition of Right to Education (RTE) as a Fundamental Right in India. Making elementary education an entitlement for children in the 6-14 age group, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 was expected to directly benefit close to ten million children who […]
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday that it will cancel plans to hire 1,100 new employees and cut the salaries of all its employees in the wake of the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. The company said in February that it planned to hire 1,100 upcoming graduates from 6,500 applicants. The company […]
The Democratic Party of Japan fared poorly in the second round of nationwide local elections following losses in the gubernatorial and prefectural elections two weeks ago. Of the 10 municipal and ward mayoral elections in which candidates affiliated with the DPJ ran against candidates affiliated with the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, the DPJ won three […]
The Japanese government said Saturday that they may help Tokyo Electric Power Co. pay for damages caused by the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, which was crippled after the March 11 quake and tsunami, in the event that the company’s survival is at stake. The amount of compensation may be limited in […]
Japan plans to beef up its strategy of “economic diplomacy” to recover from the destruction caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The economy was further damaged by the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, which has resulted in rolling blackouts in Tokyo, and hurt consumer confidence. In today’s post, I […]
The Japanese government is considering raising the consumption tax from 5 percent to 8 percent to pay for reconstruction from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The government estimated the damage caused by the disaster could amount to 25 trillion yen (more than $300 billion). The Democratic Party of Japan is in favor of raising […]
Prime Minister Naoto Kan mentioned Monday a need to freeze construction of new nuclear power plants in the wake of the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. Even as Kan was being heckled by lawmakers from the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (which is a bit of a misnomer, being neither liberal nor democratic), […]
China has over 400 million internet users, more than any other nation. This exponentially increasing population of Chinese netizens entering the global internet community has not come without serious negative externality. Over the past decade, there has been a marked increase in cyber-espionage and hacking coming from Mainland China. Espionage is not new, even between […]
Once again, inflation increased in China last month by more than economists expected, as rising commodity costs and inflows of capital threaten to overheat economies across Asia. China’s consumer prices rose 5.4% from a year earlier, the fastest pace since 2008, according to statistical reports coming out of China. Four interest-rate increases in China since […]
Tokyo Electric Power Co. released a blueprint Monday for ending the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. TEPCO will first focus on cooling the reactors and spent fuel pools, reducing radiation leaks and decontaminating water that has become radioactive. The first step is estimated to take three months. The second step is to […]
The following article was written by Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and sent to numerous English-language newspapers. “Japan’s Road to Recovery and Rebirth” By Naoto Kan On March 11, Japan was hit by one of the most powerful earthquakes in recorded history. We are making all-out efforts to restore livelihoods and recover from the series […]
