October 12, 2016 - In This Issue:
Introducing Christopher Nelson as Fellow for
U.S.-Asia Relations


Sasakawa USA is pleased to welcome to its team of U.S.-Japan experts Christopher Nelson, who is best known as editor and publisher of The Nelson Report, a daily insider's look at foreign policy and trade issues published in Washington, D.C.
 
Nelson, who joins Sasakawa USA as Fellow for U.S.-Asia Relations, will be working on projects focused on the interaction between the media and policy makers, and U.S. management of the challenges presented by North Korea and China. 
 
 
Analysis: What is the future of U.S. policy toward Japan and Korea? 
 
The Democratic and Republican candidates for president offer starkly different approaches to foreign policy generally and toward Japan and South Korea in particular, writes Sasakawa USA Senior Fellow Daniel Bob in this analysis published in The Diplomat.

Hillary Clinton, on the one hand, has well-understood views and a known group of advisors with long foreign policy experience who will likely serve in her administration. Donald Trump, on the other hand, has little background in foreign policy, but has long-held views questioning America's military alliances, its role in the world, and the benefits of trade liberalization -----    views largely falling outside the Republican mainstream.
 
 
In the News: Australian TV show features Adm. Dennis Blair in "China Rising" episode
 
Sasakawa USA's  Adm. Dennis Blair is featured prominently in an episode of Four Corners, a 45-minute long news program on current affairs that airs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The episode, entitled "China Rising," focuses on Australia's role in the South China Sea, where both the United States and China seek military dominance.

"Both the United States and China, I'm convinced, do not want to go to war. But nonetheless, they want to demonstrate support for what they think are their rights and responsibilities in the region," Blair said in the episode, asserting that recent activities China has undertaken to build up previously unoccupied islands in the South China Sea have added tensions to the region.
 
Op-ed: Japan's steel ceiling and the women cracking it

The election of Renho Murata as leader of the Democratic Party, Japan's main opposition party, in mid-September, has amplified speculation that Japan could soon elect its first female prime minister. Murata's and two other high-profile victories represent the most notable political successes to have been achieved by Japanese women in recent years, writes Fellow Tobias Harris in this commentary article that appeared in Foreign Affairs
 
That these victories occurred nearly simultaneously has signaled to many observers that Japan's political glass ceiling may soon be shattered. Yet serious obstacles to the further political rise of all three women remain. 
 
 
Commentary: How to prevent China from changing the status quo in the South China Sea

In recent months, China sent at least thirty-six ships into Japan's territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. In the South China Sea, a flotilla of Chinese barges and coast guard ships have sailed around the Philippines' Scarborough Shoal, write Sasakawa USA's Admiral Dennis Blair and Dr. Jeffrey Hornung in this commentary published in The Diplomat.
 
This ramped up Chinese activity has stoked fears in Tokyo and Manila that China is positioning itself to change the status quo. Here's how the authors argue the U.S., the Philippines, and Japan should meet that challenge.

  Click here to read more.  

Maritime Awareness Project: Views from Vietnam and Malaysia on the South China Sea arbitration, plus MAP in the news

Vietnam Benefits from the South China Sea Arbitration: Although Vietnam did not intercede in the July 12 Philippines-China  arbitration , nonetheless it now finds itself on the right side of the facts and the law in its disputes with China over maritime rights in the South China Sea, writes author James Kraska. Click here to read more.

A Perspective from Malaysia Despite the importance of the recent arbitration proceedings in The Hague, Malaysia's approach to the South China Sea dispute has remained constant. As a pivotal, nonaligned country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations with sovereign claims in the South China Sea, Malaysia upholds its approach to ensuring the continuity of regional stability and will play a role in steering the region away from conflict, writes author Sumathy Permal. Click here to read more.

Maritime Awareness Project images highlight changes to South China Sea reefs: Images from the Maritime Awareness Project's comprehensive gallery enhance an October 10 report from Yale Environment 360 by visualizing China's recent construction of airstrips, ports, and other facilities on disputed islands and reefs in the South China Sea. Click here to read more. 

In the News: Shaping the U.S.-Japan alliance through armed service
Sasakawa USA's recent Japan-US Military Program (JUMP) event with the Nisei Veterans Committee in Seattle was highlighted in an article in the North American Post. Members of the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Forces, along with members of the broader Seattle community, came together at the event to honor the Nisei Veterans who served in the segregated 100th Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT) and the Military Intelligence Service (MIS), during World War II. 
 
"We clearly understand that most Japanese Americans went through a lot of hardship during World War II," Lt. General Takashi Motomatsu, Commanding General 8th Division, Western Army of JGSDF, is quoted as saying in the article. "I would like to express my appreciation" for their contributions to society and the reconstruction of the Nikkei community. 

From Nippon.com: Analysis on Japanese relations with North Korea and Africa

Kim Jong-un's Sword of Damocles: The UN Security Council must respond to North Korea's fifth and latest nuclear test with tough new sanctions including a complete oil embargo on the country, writes author Shigemura Toshimitsu in this article. Without such drastic action, Pyongyang will continue its headlong drive to gain recognition as a nuclear-armed power. Click here to read more.

TICAD VI and Japan's New Foreign Policy Strategy: 
 
The  sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development  was held in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on August 27-- --   28. The summit, the first to be held outside Japan, closed with the adoption of the Nairobi Declaration and Nairobi Implementation Plan that set forth goals for sustainable development on the continent. TICAD was launched in 1993 and has been held in Japan every five years. In this article, author Endo Mitsugi analyzes the outcome of this year's gathering, which was the first under a new system of alternate hosting in Japan and Africa every three years. Click here to read more.  

Upcoming events: Autumn 2016
 

Some good things are worth waiting for, and our fall calendar fits into that category. Sasakawa USA is hosting five events this and next week, traveling from Washington D.C. to Tokyo, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Pensacola. Not all events are open to the public -----     check each event link for details and check our events page for new listings. 

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