Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party: life in opposition
Liberal Democratic Party President Sadakazu Tanigaki and other members of the main opposition party raise their fists during a party convention in Tokyo on 22 January 2012. Tanigaki vowed to pressure Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to dissolve the lower house as early as possible for an election, saying the country needs the LDP back in power. (Photo: AAP)

Author: Kevin Placek, Melbourne

Having ruled Japan for the better half of a century, it is no surprise that the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has found it difficult to adapt to its role as Japan’s major opposition party.

But with the prospect of further political gridlock, it may be time for the LDP to reconsider its strategy. Read more…

Japan’s ballistic missile defence system
US Navy guided missile destroyer Lassen in Tokyo Bay heading to the US Navy base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, 3 Feb. 2012. (Photo: AAP)

Author: Norifumi Namatame, ANU

After North Korea tested its Taepodong I missile in 1998 over Japanese airspace, Japan made the decision to develop its ballistic missile defence (BMD) system in cooperation with the US.

The system comprises a mid-course phase (upper-tier) Standard Missile 3 Bloc IA system loaded onto four Aegis ships, and a 16-unit terminal phase (lower-tier) Patriot PAC-3 defence system, which has been deployed to four sites on Japanese soil. Read more…

Noda’s cabinet reshuffle: does it give him a stronger hand?
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, second from right, wearing an eye patch on his right eye, and his party lawmakers raise a fist to pep themselves up during the ruling Democratic Party of Japan's annual meeting in Tokyo 16 Jan. 2012 (Photo: AAP).

Author: Michael Cucek, MIT Centre for International Studies

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda reshuffled his cabinet on 13 January, prior to the 24 January opening of the Diet’s regular session.

The reshuffle was preordained; the opposition-dominated House of Councillors censured two of Noda’s cabinet ministers on the last day of the extraordinary session last year. Read more…

If Putin becomes president (again): implications for Asia
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (R) speaks with employees of the Kalinin atomic power plant near Udomlya in the Tver region, on 12 December 2011. Putin has recently announced his candidacy for the next Russian Presidential election.

Author: Shigeki Hakamada, Aoyama Gakuin University

Still months out from Russia’s March 2012 presidential election and it is virtually certain that Vladimir Putin will return to the presidency.

Significantly for Asia, Putin called for the creation of a Eurasian Union shortly after announcing his intention to run. The plan, unveiled in a newspaper article on 4 October, is to achieve EU-style economic integration based on Russia’s customs union with Kazakhstan and Belarus that would eventually encompass the whole Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Read more…

Securing China’s energy supplies
This photo taken on 11 August 2011 shows a coal fired power station in Huaibei, China. China produces most of the coal it consumes but now draws over half of its oil supplies from overseas. The IEA projects that, by 2035, China will import nearly 12.8 million barrels per day, or 84 per cent of its total supply. (Photo: AAP)

Author: Peter Drysdale, Editor, East Asia Forum

China’s spectacular industrial growth has been associated with equally spectacular growth in Chinese energy and resource consumption.

While Chinese energy efficiency (the amount of GDP produced per unit of energy consumed) has risen steadily, except for a few years early this decade, aggregate energy consumption has been lifted by a hugely energy-intensive phase of industrialisation and the spread of motorised transportation on a scale and at a speed that is unprecedented anywhere. Read more…

Asian integration and geopolitics
A Pakistani labourer carries an empty fruit basket in Lahore on November 12, 2011. Pakistan removed restrictions on the import of 12 goods from India as part of measures to normalise trade between the nuclear-armed rivals. (Photo: AAP)

Author: Shiro Armstrong, ANU

East Asia’s pursuit of policy strategies of openness to trade and investment have resulted in its being economically one of the world’s most internationally-integrated regions — both intraregionally and towards the rest of the world.

Read more…

Japan’s confused debate about the TPP
Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba speaks during a debate with scholars on whether to join a US-led Pacific-wide free trade zone in Tokyo on 4 Nov 2011. Japan is close to the final stage of discussions on the possibility of joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which in principle would eliminate all tariffs on imports. (Photo: AAP).

Author: Corey Wallace, University of Auckland

Public debate surrounding Japan’s proposed entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) remains as heated and confused as ever.

The rhetoric is far-ranging: while some maintain that Japan risks being permanently left behind economically should it fail to negotiate entry into the TPP, others suggest that Japan’s government is agreeing to effectively cede sovereignty and sacrifice its agricultural sector for the sake of diplomatic cordiality. No one really knows what the TPP will mean for Japan, but little recognition is given to this fact. Read more…

Japan’s fighter jets: a tussle between technology and diplomacy
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda inspects troops during a review ceremony at the Japanese Self-Defense Force's Hyakuri air base at Omitama in Ibaraki prefecture on October 16, 2011. The ceremony, which is held every three years and not open to the public, comes one week after a fuel tank and other parts dropped from a Japanese F-15 fighter jet landing close to a residential area. (Photo: AAP)

Author: Jithin S. George, National Maritime Foundation

Japan received bids from Boeing, Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems to replace its outdated F-4 fighter jets on 27 September 2011, as part of a plan to buy 40–50 fighter jets in a deal worth more than US$6 billion.

Japan intends to add the new aircraft to its fleet by 2016. Read more…

Japan’s new agricultural policy plan neglects trade liberalisation
Japanese elderly farmers pick the buds of lily plants in Makkari town, Hokkaido province, northern Japan

Author: Aurelia George Mulgan, UNSW Canberra

The Japanese government’s new policy reform plan, Basic Policy and Action Plan for the Revitalisation of Our Country’s Food and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, (published 25 October) does little to promote agricultural trade liberalisation.

While containing a number of reform proposals designed to expand the scale of farming and facilitate agricultural land transfers, the plan fails to address the most important issue of all: reducing direct income subsidies to small-scale farms. Read more…

Australian opposition leader throws economic relationship with China into question
Opposition leader Tony Abbot reacts during House of Representatives question time at Parliament House Canberra. (Photo: AAP)

Author: Jane Golley, ANU

Australia’s opposition leader, Tony Abbott, who, if the polls are to be believed would win a handsome victory and become Australia’s next prime minister if an election were held today, has advanced some views that have baffled and disturbed the Australian policy and business community (including senior members of his own front bench) over the past week or two.

Among them, on foreign economic policy, he appears to be backing away from Australia’s key economic relationship with China in favour of ramping up the relationship with Japan. Read more…

Implications of tax treaty arbitration for an Asia Pacific community
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, left, with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard at the Official Opening of the Pacific Forum, Auckland, New Zealand, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011. New Zealand is the only country with which Australia has an arbitration provision contained in a tax treaty. (Photo: AAP)

Author: Micah Burch, University of Sydney

Much was made (in tax treaty circles, at least) three years ago when the OECD included in its model tax treaty a provision requiring arbitration.

The controversial provision (Article 25(5) of the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital (2003)) requires states to arbitrate tax disputes arising under the treaty if they remain unresolved after two years of negotiation between the competent authorities. While arbitration is a generally accepted facet of international commercial dispute resolution worldwide, dispute resolution under bilateral tax treaties is relatively undeveloped. Read more…