Asia > Social / CSR

Social / CSR in Asia

  • Why did Japan leave South Sudan?

    JAPAN, 2017/07/10 In March 2017, the Japanese government announced it was terminating the Self-Defence Force’s (SDF) participation in the UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS). This abrupt withdrawal came only four months next the SDF’s deployment in November 2016 under the new upgraded mission of Kaketsuke Keigo (rush and rescue). Under Kaketsuke Keigo, the SDF’s mandate is to protect Japanese nationals, foreign aid workers and peacekeepers under threat. It was added to the security legislation passed by the Diet in September 2015 legalising Japan’s proactive contribution to peace. The South Sudan mission was the initial mission the SDF undertook under the new laws.
  • Mongolia’s mighty military diplomacy

    MONGOLIA, 2017/07/10 Mongolia is quickly becoming known for its world military presence. With China and Russia as its only direct neighbours, Mongolia faces a conundrum. Mongolia’s foreign policy is dominated by the necessity to balance the influences of its powerful neighbours and the need to gather support from like-minded nations. Mongolia refers to this as their ‘Third Neighbour Policy’, which aims to allow for economic and political self-determination independent of both China and Russia. Mongolia’s military is key to the execution of this policy.
  • Philippines: Rebels Back ‘Fatwa’ Against Violent Extremism

    PHILIPPINES, 2017/07/08 The major Moro rebel group in the southern Philippines has declared its support for a “fatwa” against violent extremism before declared by a senior Islamic religious leader in Mindanao. A statement by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) released on July 4 said it “fully endorses and supports such edicts without fear and reservation.”
  • Is Abe securing or threatening Japan’s peace and democracy?

    JAPAN, 2017/06/27 Despite his involvement in a series of political scandals, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe remains unscathed. And with a firm grip on power, his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has shifted its focus away from economic reform towards conservatives’ long-cherished goal of constitutional revision to allow for the use of military force abroad while increasing executive power at the expense of civil rights at home. Celebrating the 70th anniversary of Japan’s post-war constitution on 3 May, Abe took it upon himself to revise the document. To temper public opposition against changing the war-renouncing Article 9, the LDP has in recent parliamentary deliberations pledged to dispense a host of new social benefits. Abe has as well used recurring North Korean missile tests and simmering maritime disputes to create a sense of urgency and prompt public acceptance of constitutional revision before 2020. And from presently on, despite or precisely because of heightened military tensions, the public remains divided. A lot of fear for Japan’s post-war pacifist legacy and democracy.
  • The economic legacy of empires

    WORLD, 2017/06/20 Nations colonised by Europe’s imperial powers had vastly divergent economic fates next the end of colonial policy. Some prospered into extraordinarily rich economies, while others made very little evolution. Could such economic divergence be due to differences in the kind of influence that colonial rulers had on the colonies? Some researchers have speculated that the quality of institutions set up by the imperial powers may have dictated the long-run economic increase of the colonies.
  • Retirement Age Should Be Raised To 70, Says World Economic Forum

    JAPAN, 2017/05/29 The retirement age should rise to at least 70 in rich nations by 2050 as life expectancy rises above 100, according to a new statement, BBC News reveals. The World Economic Forum said that employees should continue working until 70 in nations such as the UK, US, Japan and Canada. The increase will be needed, as the number of people over 65 will additional than triple to 2.1 billion by 2050. By again, the number of workers per retiree will have halved to just four.
  • What’s Gone Wrong With Indonesia’s Democracy?

    INDONESIA, 2017/05/29 Amid the 2017 Jakarta Election, some loosely interpreted laws (such as regarding blasphemy, anti-Pancasila, and treason) have frequently been used as a tool for political manoeuvre both by the establishment and the opposition. The majority prominent victim of this exploitation of democratic space is the incumbent Jakarta Governor, Basuki Tjahya Purnama. Political balancing nuanced the government’s intention to disband Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), one of the mobilising forces behind the anti–Basuki Tjahya Purnama (Ahok) series of rallies throughout Indonesia. Indeed, the government has been closely monitoring HTI for years, due to suspicion over their activities promoting world Islamic caliphate ideology, which is deemed incompatible with Indonesia’s democratic values.
  • Are Japan and China competing in the Middle East?

    CHINA, 2017/04/28 Over the years, China and Japan have followed very different paths of involvement in the Middle East. The one policy that both nations have consistently shared though is steering well clear of the region’s politics and conflicts. This is starting to change. A navy soldier (L) of People's Liberation Army (PLA) stands guard as Chinese citizens board the naval ship ‘Linyi’ at a port in Aden, Yemen, 29 March 2015. (Photo: Reuters/Stringer). China and Japan are both highly dependent on Middle Eastern energy sources and are interested in expanding their economic interests in this area. Both nations are as well trying to strengthen their political stance in the region and become additional involved in large power Middle East politics.
  • Vietnam’s Left-Behind Urban Migrants

    VIETNAM, 2017/04/10 At the same time as Ms. Thuan moved from her hometown of Nam Giang in the Red River Delta to Hanoi, she initially planned to remain for a year. “I wanted to work and raise some money to purchase additional rice paddies in my hometown,” she says. But additional than 20 years later, Thuan has made little evolution toward achieving her goal. Like a lot of other rural-to-urban migrants who have sought better livelihoods in Vietnam’s rapidly developing cities, she is trapped in a cycle of poverty. Despite living and working in Hanoi for decades, she is unable to seek formal residency status. Vietnam’s restrictive residential registration system (ho khau) dictates that Vietnamese citizens must register their permanent residence in only one district in the country.
  • Profiling in the Korean labour market

    NORTH KOREA, 2016/11/24 Korean workers are overworked, dissatisfied, and have the highest suicide rate in the OECD. At the same time, their productivity lags behind that of workers in other OECD nations. Evidence suggests that Korean employers do not provide their workers with an environment conducive to productivity nor do they match workers to well-suited jobs.