Month: October 2006

  • Koike Yuriko: Japan's Condi?

    Newsweek has some questions for Japan’s first national security advisor, Koike Yuriko [ja]. Unfortunately they’re none too illuminating. The point of the piece seems to be, “Wow, a female national security advisor? Say, that’s just like Condi!” I should be more forgiving. After all, the ground rules for the interview could have precluded serious questions.…

  • A Bit of U.S.–Japan History on Water-Boarding

    In the United States, “water-boarding,” an interrogation technique considered by many (including myself) to be torture, is back in the news. Vice President Dick Cheney either said it was fine, or journalists misinterpreted his statement—depending on who you ask. I don’t think it’s terribly important what Cheney thinks, but a week and a half before…

  • A Progressive Response to North Korea

    This piece originally appeared on CampusProgress.org. It outlines the argument set forth by Joe Cirincione, the head of national security and international policy at my day job—the Center for American Progress. Ask the Expert: North Korea’s Nuclear Test A progressive response to North Korea’s actions. By Graham Webster Thursday October 12, 2006 North Korea’s report…

  • Feeling Demographic Squeeze, Japanese Colleges Turn to Chinese Market

    In an “aging society,” it stands to reason that some colleges and universities might have trouble attracting students in Japan. And, as we all know, institutions of higher learning need revenue like any other organization. For some schools, reports Tak Kamakura of Bloomberg News, this means recruiting Chinese students to fill classrooms. Kamakura writes, “While…

  • What About the Trade Imbalance, Indeed

    Is China growing at the United States’ expense? That is one of the most vexing questions about China for U.S. politicians, and that’s the question Stephen Roach of Morgan Stanley and Desmond Lachman of the American Enterprise Institute are at work debating on cfr.org. Short answer? Well, they’re not giving a short answer. In Roach’s…