Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the Pacific
Author: Wen Bo, Pacific Environment
Unlike previous Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, who had little interest in forming a strong bilateral relationship with Japan and focused on US China relations instead, the current leadership in China acknowledges the heavy interdependence of the two countries.
What happens in Japan has wide ranging effects in China. Read more…
Author: Haruo Shimada, Chiba University of Commerce
In the wake of Japan’s 11 March disaster, a solar energy economic zone should be constructed along the east coast of the Tohoku region.
The damage to the Tohoku region is extensive and profound in so many areas and aspects. Read more…
Author: Peter Drysdale, Editor, EAF
The wave of political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa puts the spotlight once more on Asia’s oil dependence and energy security.
The pressure on oil prices and growing anxiety over energy security, until recently, have largely been driven by the surge in demand from emerging economies, notably China and India. Read more…
Author: Yoshikazu Kobayashi, IEEJ, Tokyo
The world oil market is experiencing another once-in-a-decade oil supply crisis in the Middle East and North Africa.
Such crises have been a chronic phenomenon in the market since the 1970s, starting with the two oil crises in the 1970s, the Gulf War in 1991 and the Iraqi War in 2003, although the volume disrupted has actually varied on each occasion. Read more…
Author: Kazuhiko Takeuchi and Nicholas Turner, UNU-ISP
Two months after the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and tsunami, the full extent of their tragic physical and human consequences is all too clear. But the natural disasters, and the subsequent nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, also have wider implications for Japan’s domestic and foreign policies.
The impact of this ‘triple disaster’ upon Japan’s plans to tackle climate change may be particularly strong. Read more…
Author: Ming Hwa Ting, University of Adelaide
An unfortunate consequence of Japan’s nuclear disaster in Fukushima is that global enthusiasm for nuclear energy has been diminished, at least in the short-term.
And an often overlooked side effect here is the likely spike in demand for rare metals. Read more…
Author: Peter Hayes, Nautilus Institute and RMIT
In the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, Korea — a tiny nation festooned with reactors in the South and one small light water reactor under construction in the North — has some serious thinking to do on the nuclear front.
The South’s ambitious reactor expansion plan no longer seems viable and the safe storage of spent fuel rods must also be reconsidered. Read more…
Author: Andrew Phillips, ANU
A revolution in energy consumption is sweeping Asia. Rapid economic growth in China and India has yielded a corresponding spike in their energy consumption.
Despite the welcome surge of prosperity from this growth, the Asian energy revolution has the potential to seriously exacerbate states’ energy security concerns, imperilling strategic stability, and, ultimately, regional prosperity Read more…
Author: David Brewster, ANU
The Fukushima nuclear crisis is likely to have some major consequences for India.
India has been on track to become one of the biggest users of nuclear power in the world. It currently has 11 nuclear plants in operation or under construction, totaling 7,500 MW of generation capacity, and has plans to increase its nuclear generation capacity to up to 64,000 MW by 2032. Read more…
Author: Hugh Patrick, Columbia University
I was sitting at a desk in my room on the 35th floor of the New Otani Hotel Tower Building in downtown Tokyo Friday afternoon March 11, when suddenly the building began to shake and sway.
Oh, an earthquake I thought. But it became stronger, and wouldn’t stop, and I couldn’t move. Read more…
Author: Ben Heard, ThinkClimate Consulting
In early 2011, nuclear power was coming back. China and South Korea were undertaking significant expansion, while Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia were en route to embracing nuclear power for the first time. China was determined to develop Generation IV thorium and fast reactors.
The modern reactors were safer, simpler, smaller, cheaper, and more modular than ever before, with Generation IV technology holding the potential for consuming nuclear waste. Then the Fukushima accident reignited our nuclear fears. What will this mean for the future of energy in East Asia? Read more…
Author: Vlado Vivoda, Griffith University
The nuclear disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station has raised questions about the future of nuclear power in Asia. Prior to the disaster, Asia was described as the nuclear powerhouse of the future.
With increasing competition for oil and gas among Asian states and the negative impact of carbon pollution, nuclear power has been referred to as a matter of survival for the region, both in terms of energy and environmental security. Read more…
Author: Huw McKay, Westpac and ANU
The great misfortune of Japan’s earthquake will shape the contours of economic activity in the country for some time to come.
Japanese private sector estimates of the economic cost are centring on 3 per cent of GDP. Read more…
Author: David Brewster, ANU
Bangladesh’s recent announcement of a deal with Russia to construct its first nuclear reactor marks a broadening of the nuclear gold rush in South Asia.
The latest deal is part of a big expansion of nuclear generation throughout the region. Read more…
Author: Christopher Len, ISEAS
On 11 March 2011 an earthquake measuring 9.0 struck the Tohuku region on the east coast of Japan, causing a tsunami which resulted in death, injury and people missing.
It also caused extensive and severe damage to Japan’s infrastructure. Strong aftershocks have since rattled parts of Japan. Prime Minister Naoto Kan has said that his country is facing its worse crisis since World War II. Read more…