Eastern Asia

You may remember that debates surrounding the Dokdo islands are paramount in the South Korean-Japanese conflicts.

The policy that the United States has recently been pursuing towards China would give you the impression that America’s political elite are suffering from a form of political schizophrenia. Moreover, not only can the signs of political division be seen in the deepening divide in American politics, but even the behavior of individual high-profile politicians is inconsistent.

On July 7, 2020, the Seoul Central District Court obliged Kim Jong-un and the North Korean government to pay damages to two former prisoners of war for forced labor during the time they were held captive in the northern part of the country. This was the first case when a South Korean court declared its jurisdiction over North Korea.

On 13 July an international newscast reported that the European Commission will discuss as a priority on how the EU should react to China’s national security law for Hong Kong, a sovereign decision taken by Beijing to protect the citizens of the Chinese territory, Hong Kong, from western instigated riots and acts of terror. This is apparently an issue close to the heart of the German Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas, as he raised the issue as a priority for the EC to be discussed.

From July 7-10, Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, US Special Representative for North Korea, made a visit to Seoul. While the entire makeup of the delegation is not clear, Biegun was accompanied by Alex Wong, deputy special representative for the North.

China’s special administration region of Hong Kong saw the passing of a security law outlawing acts universally recognized as criminal and threats to any nation’s security and sovereignty.

This author has written more than once about how state-sponsored anti-Japanism is one of the cornerstones of the ideology put forth by the Republic of Korea, and unfortunately these processes elicit similar reactions in Japan, thereby creating a vicious circle. Here are a few recent narratives.

After the corona crisis, may the world be facing a monumental paradigm shift of power towards a more balanced civilization – more social justice and equity? The global almost total lockdown, chosen by most governments around the globe in response to mastering the Covid-19 crisis, devastated the world economy, as we know it – and hundreds of millions of lives. Was it necessary? Will there be a time when those responsible for this universal, scientifically unnecessary lockdown be held accountable?

On the 7th of July 2020 Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jin Ping held one of their regular telephone conversations. The fact of the call, let alone its content, received scant coverage in the western mainstream media. This was unfortunate because what the two men had to say conveyed major geopolitical decisions. The impact of those decisions will have major consequences.