Author: Kozo Kiyota, YNU

The Japanese Ministry of Finance announced on 25 January that the country logged a trade deficit of 2.5 trillion yen (US$31.4 billion) in 2011, its first in more than three decades.

Japan’s imports rose 12 per cent while its exports fell 2.7 per cent compared with the previous year. Read more…

Author: Anthony J. McMichael, ANU

Over the next half a century and beyond, two major, contrasting shifts in population health will affect the social and economic burdens of disease and the causes of premature death in the Asian region.

Pervasive and disruptive population-health developments could also affect the movement of people, social stability and geopolitical security. These projected shifts will have major implications for Australia. Read more…

Author: Nicholas Lardy, PIIE

The imminent rebalancing of China’s economy has been forecast repeatedly over the past several years.

With the shrinking of China’s external surplus during 2011, proponents of this argument have all but declared victory. Read more…

Author: Sigourney Irvine, ANU

The Burmese government recently pardoned 651 prisoners, an act that international media greeted with positive fanfare and applause.

It may be thought absurd for a government to conduct such a mass amnesty, and the reaction of the media may seem even more out of place. But for Burma, absurdity has long been a staple. Read more…

Author: Yoshisuke Iinuma, The Oriental Economist

The household-electronics industry has long been equivalent in stature to Japan’s automotive industry, and is seen as a symbol of the country’s strong manufacturing sector.

But now its central product — television manufacturing — is on the verge of collapse and the major electronics firms are haemorrhaging red ink. Read more…

Author: Peter Drysdale, Editor, East Asia Forum

The idea that the world has entered the Asian century has wide and credible currency.

Its foundation, of course, lies in the rise of Chinese and Indian economic power and the integration of the East Asian economy that has accompanied China’s spectacular growth. Read more…

Author: Hugh White, ANU

Four months ago, as Australia’s parliamentarians rose to give President Barack Obama a standing ovation, it seemed they had already decided how best to navigate the profound strategic changes that must inevitably flow from the shift in relative economic weight from West to East.

Obama laid out in the starkest terms yet his determination that America will resist China’s challenge to US leadership in Asia, using all the elements of its power — including military force — to perpetuate a future for Asia framed by American values and interests. Read more…

Author: Vikram Nehru, Carnegie Endowment

Political and economic reforms and the lifting of international sanctions have set in motion Myanmar’s re-entry into the family of nations.

Already, the release of over 600 political prisoners and other economic and political reforms, including the re-registration of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy for the 1 April by-election, have paved the way for the restoration of diplomatic relations with the US and other Western countries. Read more…

Author: Kai Ito, ANU

Beijing has chosen to defy Washington’s embargo on Iranian oil.

While this does not bode well for putting an end to Iran’s uranium-enrichment program, the embargo also represents another worrying failure for US-China relations. Read more…

Author: Sandy Gordon, ANU

Washington has now moderated Secretary for Defense Leon Panetta’s statement that the US, as a fighting force, would be in the barracks by mid-2013.

US forces may now come out to fight as and when necessary until their departure at the end of 2014. Read more…

Author: Renu Kohli, ICRIER

The recent depreciation of the rupee has been a costly shock for India’s financial and real economy.

The large and abrupt drop in the currency’s value has negatively impacted businesses and households by pushing up costs in an inflationary phase, increased price uncertainty and volatility, dented economic confidence, and worsened the critical macroeconomic aggregates. Read more…

Author: Vikram Nehru, Carnegie Endowment

With elections expected to be held in Malaysia this year, there is reason for concern that tensions could rise in the event of a close result — and a misstep by either side could lead to violence.

National elections have to take place by March 2013, but Prime Minister Najib Razak has indicated that they could likely be sooner. Read more…

Author: Shankaran Nambiar, MIU, Malaysia

The Najib government has given renewed focus to Malaysia’s international economic relations, including liberalisation and increasing interaction with the global economy.

This approach is understandable for a small, open economy that is particularly dependent on export-driven growth, and faces considerable pressure to attract FDI and increase its exports. Read more…

Author: Cheng Li, Brookings

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping’s current visit to the United States is important to both nations, but for different reasons.

Xi is expected to soon take over from Hu Jintao as leader of the world’s most populous country and second-largest economy. Read more…

Author: Chen-shen Yen, NCCU

With the ruling party returned to power after Taiwan’s recent presidential election, both Beijing and Washington have breathed a sigh of relief.

Peace across the Taiwan Strait appears to have been preserved for at least another four years. Read more…