East Asia Regional Cooperation on Global Health
By Susan Hubbard
East Asia is experiencing an escalation of seemingly intractable conflicts over territory and history that threaten to undo gains that have been made in building regional institutions and promoting cross-border engagement. We need another watershed moment of cooperation to help open up new avenues of communication across the region. Health is a field that is ripe for that kind of cooperation.
Celebrating Community Health Workers: a Look Back to 2013
By Maya Wedemeyer and Sarah Zimmerman
As the second annual World Health Workers Week draws to a close, we wish to look back at the ways in which community health workers have been honored over the past year – especially for their incredible power for aiding social and economic development through the health sector.
Come on Japan, Get with the Program
Founding a startup today has become the stuff of TV and movies around the world. But in Japan today, founding a tech company is not what you might call super popular. Silicon Valley appreciates a good failure. The Japanese — not so much.
A Toilet for All Techies
There’s really no other way to describe them: The toilets of Japan are fabulous. But most U.S. consumers don’t know there’s a whole wide high-tech toilet world out there. It’s something that has to be tried to be really appreciated, says Bill Strang, president of operations for Toto in the Americas.
Secrets of “Three Brothers” of South Korea, China, Japan
By Yoshibumi Wakamiya
You probably do not know that there is the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS) in Korea. Although it is rarely known in Japan or China, it is an international organization jointly funded by South Korea, Japan and China and established to promote peace and common prosperity among the three neighbors.
After Abe: Will Japan Fall Back into Old Habits?
In light of Abe’s foreign policy accomplishments, one could assume that the problem of short-lived, weak prime ministers is a thing of the past. But a recent JCIE study warns that Abe may be the exception rather than the rule. Post-Abe, Japan is likely to slip back into the pattern of frequent leadership changes.
Review of “Looking for Leadership: The Dilemma of Political Leadership in Japan”
Democratic leaders around the world are finding it increasingly difficult to exercise strong leadership and maintain public support. There is nowhere that this has proven to be as challenging of a task as Japan, which has seen its top leaders change more often over the past 25 years than any other major country in the world. Why do Japan’s prime ministers find it so difficult to project strong leadership, or even stay in office?
As Japan’s Population Shrinks, Bears and Boars Roam Where Schools and Shrines Once Thrived
In Hara-izumi, there’s no worry about an influx of foreigners. There are no immigrants here, nor the prospect of any. A bigger issue now is wildlife: The village’s population has become so sparse that wild bears, boars and deer are roaming the streets with increasing frequency.
No TPP Trade Deal? Some Japanese Farmers Say All the Better for Them
Rice farmer Takao Terada isn’t following the U.S. presidential election too closely. But there’s one issue that both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton seem to agree on — that the U.S. should not ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact — and that’s music to his ears.
Japan Earthquake Fifth Anniversary: U.S. Response Overwhelming
Individuals and organizations from the U.S. have given $746.1 million to support Japan’s recovery from its “triple disaster,” JCIE announced on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis that struck the coastline of the Tohoku region March 11, 2011.