GLOBAL STUDIES: Japan and the Pacific Rim, Ninth Edition
Using Global Studies: Japan and the Pacific Rim
Selected World Wide Web Sites
U.S. Statistics and Map
Canada Statistics and Map
World Map
The Pacific Rim Map
The Pacific Rim: Diversity and Interconnection
Pacific Islands Map
The Pacific Islands: Opportunities and Limits
Japan
Country Reports
Australia (Commonwealth of Australia)
Brunei (Negara of Brunei Darussalam)
Cambodia (Kingdom of Cambodia)
China (People’s Republic of China)
East Timor (Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste)
Hong Kong (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region)
Indonesia (Republic of Indonesia)
Laos (Lao People’s Democratic Republic)
Macau (Macau Special Administrative Region)
Malaysia
Myanmar (Union of Myanmar [Burma])
New Zealand
North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea)
Papua New Guinea (Independent State of Papua New Guinea)
Philippines (Republic of the Philippines)
Singapore (Republic of Singapore)
South Korea (Republic of Korea)
Taiwan
Thailand (Kingdom of Thailand)
Vietnam (Socialist Republic of Vietnam) Articles from the World Press
Japan Articles New! 1. The Tale of Two Monetary Policies: Korea and Japan, Thomas F. Cargill, FRBSF Economic Letter, April 15, 2005
Japan and South Korea have each attempted to solve the economic problems stemming from bad banking practices. This analysis shows how each country has handled bankruptcies and monetary policy-derived price instability, and how South Korea has performed better in these areas than has Japan. New! 2. In Japan, New Nationalism Takes Hold, Robert Marquand, The Christian Science Monitor, December 28, 2006
Is Japan experiencing an awakening nationalism? Can evidence of it be found in magazines, in cartoons, on television, and in the speech content of motivational speakers? Despite the continuation of a strongly pacifist national personality, new voices are emerging that show Japan moving slowly away from its moderate worldview of the past 50 years. New! 3. North Korea's Weapons Quest, Nicholas Eberstadt, The National Interest, Summer 2005
The rest of the world views North Korea as completely out of sync with modern realities. Yet, North Korea’s worldview of itself as a country under constant threat from the overwhelming firepower of the United States and its surrogate, South Korea, renders its drive for WMD logical to itself, if not to others. New! 4. Keeping the Balance, The Economist, February 24, 2005
Despite Taiwan’s de facto independence, China bristles at any talk from America or Japan that involves Taiwan, claiming, as it does, that Taiwan is a province of China, and therefore, nobody else’s business. Yet, America and Japan have good reasons to keep China’s power in Asia in check, even if that means cooperating with Taiwan on military and other matters at the expense of China’s feelings. New! 5. Dollar-Friendly Destinations, Sheridan Prasso, Sheridan Press Business Week, February 28, 2005
In the memories of many, Vietnam is a war and an enemy. But today’s Vietnam boasts increasing opportunities for tourists who prefer to think of the country as it really is: a place of delicious cuisine, coral reefs for scuba diving, unique ethnic minorities, and friendly hosts who, for the most part, have let bygones be bygones. New! 6. North Korea's Double-Edged Sword, Anthony Faiola, The Washington Post, December 20, 2004-January 2, 2005
North Korea has been experimenting with free-market reforms, and the resulting increase in North Korean contact with the outside world has produced an unexpected by-product: thousands of defectors. New! 7. Trading Up, Sheridan Prasso, The New Republic, August 16 and 23, 2004
In 1999, the United States signed an agreement giving Cambodian workers access to manufacturing jobs from U.S. companies on the condition that the government would implement strict good-labor practices. The experiment has been so successful that 25 percent of Cambodia’s population now depends on such jobs for their livelihoods. New! 8. A Whiff of New Money, Brian Bremner and Assif Shameen, Business Week, July 4, 2005
Despite on-going security instability and constant natural disasters, Indonesia has been successful in luring investors, and the economy is on the mend. If rampant government corruption can be contained, Indonesia’s economy may be able to grow fast enough to keep the restive population’s frustrations in check. New! 9. No Home Where the Dugong Roam, The Economist, October 29, 2005
For years, the tension over the presence of U.S. military bases in Japan has been growing. In Okinawa, in particular, public resentment of the 25,000 some troops increasingly erupts into mass protests. Will the closure of one base and the expansion of another solve the problem? New! 10. A Tense Courtship, Alan Brender, The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 27, 2005
Since the 1990s, Japan has been the recipient of increasingly angry criticism from China and South Korea over the content of history books used in the public schools. Most books, they say, whitewash Japan’s aggression in Asia in World War II. But some Japanese professors think the criticism has gone too far and have written new textbooks—books that have only added to the acrimony. New! 11. Broadband Wonderland, Peter Lewis, Fortune, September 20, 2004
By 2007, South Korea will have 10 million fully-equipped “smart homes.” Already, the country has the highest per capita penetration rate of broadband service in the world and is poised for phenomenal growth in bandwidth, making the internet, cell phones, and other technology even more available to average South Koreans. New! 12. Why Taiwan Matters, Bruce Einhorn, Business Week, May 16, 2005
With all the talk about the booming economy in China, it is easy to forget how powerful its next-door neighbor is. The number one producer of scores of high-tech products, Taiwan boosts an economy so strong that it is easy to see why reconciliation with China seems unnecessary. New! 13. Wandering Workers, The Economist, January 20, 2007
In the Philippines, 10 percent of GDP comes from remittances from thousands of Filipinos working abroad. Migrant workers are an important but unregulated part of the economies of all Southeast Asian nations. What is the impact of this growing phenomenon? New! 14. Thoughts of Chairman Li, Tim W. Ferguson and Vivian Kwok Wai Yin, Forbes, January 29, 2007
Hong Kong multi-billionaire Li Ka-shing finds that investing in and donating large sums to China brings big pay-offs, personally and financially. New! 15. How the Hybrid Race Went to the Swift, David Kiley, Business Week, January 29, 2007
Toyoto Motors continues to out-pace American auto makers. Its electric-gas hybrid is now selling 250,000 cars a year, while U.S. car makers admit they have missed the chance to advance against the Japanese automobile industry. New! 16. Driven to Protest: China's Rural Unrest, Lianjian Li, Current History, September 2006
Although Chinese government officials are loath to admit it, stability in the countryside is on the decline. Some 5 million rural villagers engaged in protests against local and provincial authorities in 2005, with land expropriation being the number one source of antagonism. New! 17. The Withering of Philippine Democracy, Patricio N. Abinales and Donna J. Amoroso, Current History, September 2006
The people-power revolutions that have characterized Philippines politics since the fall of Marcos are not bringing the hoped-for democracy. Instead, pre-Marcos era clans and warlords are returning to power, and political parties are succumbing to the very corruption they once fought against. New! 18. Vietnam’s Bumpy Road to Reform, Sophie Quinn-Judge, Current History, September 2006
In recent years, Vietnam has managed to jump-start its economy. But those who expected economic liberalization to lead to political reform are going to have to be patient a while longer. New! 19. Campaign Projects Nation's Image, Lee Sun-young, Korea Herald, November 16, 2005
South Koreans are frustrated that the reality of their social and political affairs is not correctly communicated overseas. New English-language Web sites and several volunteer organizations have been created to modify the image of South Korea in the minds of foreign observers. New! 20. The Paradox of Burma, Martin Smith, IIAS Newsletter, Autumn 2006
Drug trafficking and other illicit practices have become commonplace, indeed are flourishing, in Myanmar (Burma) under the current junta. New! 21. Japanese Animal Spirits, The Wall Street Journal, Asia version, December 22-26, 2006
It has been a long time since Japanese firms were in a position to buy up companies overseas. But, once again, they are doing so, with some 300 merger and acquisition deals under discussion in 2006. Is Japan Inc. back? New! 22. Australia’s Emerging Global Role, Allan Gyngell, Current History, March 2005
Australia has maintained a good working relationship with the United States, but as the land down under moves more forcefully to develop ties with Asia, it will have to decide if Asia is a threat or an opportunity. 23. China Goes Shopping, Dexter Roberts, Business Week, December 20, 2004
Chinese businesses, with the encouragement of Beijing, are launching a wave of acquisitions of Western companies. What is the cause of this trend and where will it end? 24. Taiwan’s Democratic Movement and Push for Independence, Chang Mau-kuei, IIAS Newsletter, July 2004
The current Taiwanese independence movement has its roots in the resistance to Japanese colonialism in the early 1920s. But the island is pulled by forces from different directions, and the end result is not yet clear.
