Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the Pacific
Author: Gi-Wook Shin, Stanford University and Rennie J. Moon, Yonsei University
As expected, Moon Jae-in has been elected as South Korea’s 19th president. In a five-way contest, Moon garnered 41.1 per cent of the vote, with strong support from those in their 20s to 50s, winning most of the regions in the country. Read more…
Author: Alicia Ogawa, Columbia University
Corporate governance has long been a hot topic for investors worldwide, but it is still a new concept in Japan. The increasing number of Japanese corporate scandals points to the need for a new approach to management. Many once-prominent companies seem to be unable to adapt to the pace of global change. The domestic market no longer offers much growth potential, so Japanese firms need to actively engage with the world or perish. Read more…
Author: Lauren Richardson, Edinburgh University
Park Geun-hye’s successor has been determined in one of the largest voter turnouts in South Korea’s electoral history. Moon Jae-in, a liberal human rights lawyer, was elected president in a landslide victory. While power transitions are never easy to navigate, Moon faces the exceptionally daunting task of picking up the policy pieces of his dramatically ousted predecessor. Read more…
Author: Yasuhiro Matsuda, The University of Tokyo
International politics surrounding Taiwan is quietly changing thanks to a rejuvenation in Japan–Taiwanese relations. But revitalised bilateral ties are likely to spell trouble for already rocky Sino–Japan relations. Read more…
Author: Editors, East Asia Forum
The 70th anniversary of Japan’s constitution on Wednesday 3 May has piqued global interest in the contentious debate around the Abe administration’s proposals for the constitution’s revision. Some call for modernisation of the document, but there is also widespread concern that the changes being pursued by the Abe government are borne out of an ideological rather than a practical policy agenda for change. Read more…
Author: Gerald Curtis, Columbia University
Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, may have taken a hit in the polls over recent weeks, but the prospect that the opposition Democratic Party (DP) might take advantage of his political misfortunes is virtually zero. How is it that DP politicians, many of whom are quite intelligent, have managed to run Japan’s major opposition party into the ground?
Author: Yuki Tatsumi, Stimson Center
There is more than the usual interest in the seventieth birthday of Japan’s constitution, importantly because of a move to revision of its most unusual and distinguishing feature — Article 9, its famous peace clause. Read more…
