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Vol. 5, No. 1
September 2006
ISSN 1684-629X
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Japan and Asian Values:
A Challenge for Japan's East Asian Policy in the New Century
Fumitaka Furuoka, Beatrice Lim Fui Yee and Roslinah Mahmud
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Since its defeat in the Second World War, Japan has
been fostering good ties with Western countries, especially the United States.
However, some East Asian leaders emboldened by their countries’ economic
success have proclaimed that the future belongs to Asia and have put forward
the “Asian values” argument. It is interesting to note that some elements of
the “Asian values” argument resemble ultra-nationalist discourse that was
dominant in Japan before the war. The Japanese Government had a great
opportunity to reappraise its role in international politics and take stock of
its economic and diplomatic relations with East Asian countries after the end
of the Cold War. <more>
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Political Turmoil in Thailand:
Thaksin, Protests, Elections, and the King
Michael H. Nelson
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In the concluding section of my preceding
assessment of the political situation in Thailand (see eastasia.at,
Vol. 4, No. 2, December 2005), I anticipated six months of suspense. Factors
assumed to contribute to this suspense were the decision of the Supreme
Administrative Court on the privatization of the Electricity Generating
Authority of Thailand (EGAT); a disappointing cabinet reshuffle; the second
Senate election on 19 April 2006 producing a TRT-dominated Upper House; and a
no-confidence debate against a number of ministers for alleged corruption. In
reality, the course of political events unexpectedly accelerated. <more>
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