Word: regionals
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...recently in the town of Sendai, north of Tokyo. It snowed, which was a lovely treat, something I never see at home in Hong Kong. Japan is a respite from the rest of Asia in many other ways. While much of the region is still hurtling along the path of development - a blinding whirl of frenetic construction and perpetual change - Japan is a vision of stability, a nation that has everything others in Asia want, and has already had it all for decades. Money. Technology. Global brands. A seat at the table with the powerful countries of the industrialized world...
...Asia Asia's increasingly assertive leaders are demanding that the U.S. recognize the continent's growing economic and geopolitical clout. Many feel that Obama, despite his personal ties to Asia, isn't giving the region the respect it feels it merits. An editorial in the Bangkok Post - the leading English-language daily in Thailand, a nation that is usually dependably pro-American - summed up the prevailing sentiment: "Mr. Obama's promises about restoring U.S. interest in Asia ... have proved so far to be more talk than substance...
...about Asia's significance. Last November, on his first visit to the continent as President, Obama vowed to address a perception that the George W. Bush Administration had overlooked Washington's Pacific allies. "I want every American to know that we have a stake in the future of this region," Obama said in Tokyo, "because what happens here has a direct effect on our lives at home." But since then the Obama Administration has dropped the ball on promoting U.S.-Asia trade, neglecting to implement regional free-trade pacts. "We do hope that [Obama's Asia visit] will...
...military security. Now there's a new top dog in town: China. Last year, Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada proclaimed that this "will be the age of Asia and in that context it is important for Japan to have its own stance, to play its own role in the region" - a role separate from that of the U.S. It's no coincidence that such a sentiment was expressed precisely as China had overtaken the U.S. as Japan's largest trading partner...
...areas where poachers escape punishment easily. "The most critical challenge that we face in central Africa is undoubtedly a lack of law enforcement," says David Greer, coordinator of the African Great Apes Program at the World Wildlife Fund. "In no uncertain terms, it's the ubiquitous impunity in this region. Nobody is held accountable, and there's no deterrent for killing protected species...