Category

Disaster Prep & Humanitarian Aid

Japan’s New Military: A Regional Player Now

By Critical National / Regional Security Issues, Disaster Prep & Humanitarian Aid, Indonesia, Japan, Japan, Military, Our Media, Philippines, PRC/China, Senkakus, Vietnam

A massive, but flawed Fukushima/Tohoku response, the Senkaku islands confrontation with China, proposed amendments to Japan’s post-war Constitution regarding its defense capabilities, developments in relations with other regional militaries, the successful “Dawn Blitz” joint amphibious landing at Camp Pendleton with U.S. Marines, and then the Abe/Yasukuni visit…. what is actually happening on Japan’s military side that many are  missing?

This program is about a new Japanese military with new, enhanced capabilities that have been achieved with remarkable speed over the past 18 months.

This week, Grant Newsham (formerly, Col. USMC), a Senior Research Fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies in Tokyo and formerly the U.S. Marine liaison officer with the Japan Self Defense Forces joins “Asia in Review” Host David Day for a fascinating discussion on this topic.

Mr. Newsham is also a former diplomat with the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo and formerly a Director of a major Tokyo financial firm.

Philippine Nightmare: Typhoon Haiyan

By All Southeast Asia, Blog, Disaster Prep & Humanitarian Aid, Our Media, Philippines
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Haiyan has devastated parts of the Philippines beyond recognition. Where are we? What is happening on the ground? What kind of recovery period are we looking at?

“Asia in Review” host David Day engages in an important and fascinating conversation about this terrible disaster with special guests Vice Consul Joy Santos of the Philippine Consulate, Ray Shirkhodai, the Executive Director of the Pacific Disaster Center on Maui,  along with Dr Heather Bell, also of the Pacific Disaster Center.

American Eyes Inside North Korea’s Nuclear Facilities and Others

By Counter-Terrorism, Critical National / Regional Security Issues, Developments in Technology, Disaster Prep & Humanitarian Aid, Economic Development, Economic Security/Development, Energy, Food Security, Foreign Policy/Geopolitics, International Business, Intl Business in Asia, IT/Computer/Software, Korean Peninsula, Military, North Korea, North Korea, North Korea, Northeast Asia, Nuclear, Our Media
Nicole FinnemanFormerly, Korea Economic Institute, Washington, D.C.

Nicole Finneman
Formerly, Korea Economic Institute,
Washington, D.C

 

 

 

Hosted by David Day, this television program aired statewide in Hawaii and features, as its special guest, Ms. Nicole Finneman, formerly with the Korea Economic Institute in Washington, D.C.  Ms. Finneman, an American eyewitness inside North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear facility and other fascinating facilities and locations throughout the country, talks about those experiences.

The conversation turns from the Yongbyon visit to the potential business and commerce development in North Korea and references American firms now lining up to do business in North Korea in the future, including the Korean-American-owned, Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (a private university).

Ms. Finneman talks about her visits to various commercial enterprises, the Koryolink mobile phone explosion in the country, and the market/commercial developments within the country. (Koryolink, a joint venture between the Egyptian company Orascom Telecom Holdings and the state-owned Korea Post and Telecommunications Corporation, is North Korea’s only 3G mobile operator.)

Nicole also discusses  her visit to the digital libraries at Kim Il Sung University and their remarkable high tech facilities which many universities in the U.S. currently do not have…but only connected to an intranet–no internet.

Finally, Ms. Finneman and David Day talk about the infrastructure for commerce and foreign investment that is now being put into place in North Korea and her crystal-ball view of the potential for change in that country.

Confrontation in the Koreas: Where is the Solution?

By China, Critical National / Regional Security Issues, Disaster Prep & Humanitarian Aid, Economic Development, Foreign Policy/Geopolitics, Intl Business in Asia, Japan, Korean Peninsula, Military, Mongolia, North Korea, North Korea, North Korea, Northeast Asia, Nuclear, Our Media, Pacific Forum CSIS, PRC/China, Regional Security/Flashpoints, Russia, South Korea

This is Part 2 of the television series of discussions between Pacific Forum, CSIS’s Dr. Kevin Shepard and international Lawyer David F.Day on the complex issues behind the confrontation between the Koreas. This in-depth discussion includes and examination of the humanitarian crisis facing the international community should North Korea collapse, China’s 3 province economic policy and its impact on China’s view of North Korea, and the beginnings of private sector investment in North Korea.