Japan

Japanese and Chinese nationalists want their countries to look like victims. It’s a poor way to make policy.

Dmitry Medvedev’s decision to visit a disputed island chain piles the pressure on a Japanese government already wrestling with China.

The decision by China to restrict exports of rare earth metals looks like a diplomatic and economic mistake.

Energy-hungry Asia offers Russia a chance to re-engage with the continent. But is a nuclear strategy a guarantee of influence?

With an eye each on China, India and Japan look to bolster defence co-operation.

Are the latest anti-Japan protests another sign the Chinese govt is still fanning nationalist sentiment?

Japan wasn’t blameless in the recent spat. But Beijing must understand that great powers sometimes need to show restraint.

The detention of Zhan Qixiong after a run-in near the Senkaku Islands has outraged Beijing.

The Diplomat spoke recently with Stephen Yates, senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council and former Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs, and Christian Whiton, a former deputy special envoy to the Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs, about North Korea, China and US relations with Japan.

On February 5, Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith assured his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, that Canberra had corrected the feng shui of a disturbing piece of the region’s diplomatic architecture.