Author: Tobias Harris

Asia

March 3, 2021

NORTH KOREA: Pyongyang could expand cyber attacks as economic crisis continues

North Korea, Politics
cyber, editorial

Tobias Harris, Victor Cha

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in February that it was indicting three members of North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), a clandestine agency that manages cyber warfare activities, for attempts to steal more than USD 1.3bn in...

March 6, 2020

Tobias Harris

Tobias Harris

Tobias Harris is an expert on Japanese politics, and worked in 2006-2007 on the staff of Keiichiro Asao, at that time a member of the upper house of the Japanese Diet and shadow foreign minister for the Democratic Party...

Asia

March 3, 2021

ASIA: China’s new Coast Guard Law is not an escalation of maritime disputes

Technology, Asia, China, Politics
editorial

Bob Herrera-Lim, Gabriel Wildau, Tobias Harris

China’s new Coast Guard Law is part of a long-term administrative and legal reform effort and does not signal near-term escalation of territorial and maritime disputes in the South and East China Seas.… <a href="https://speevr.com/2021/03/03/asia-chinas-new-coast-guard-law-is-not-an-escalation-of-maritime-disputes/"...

Asia

February 24, 2021

JAPAN: Suga faces new obstacle as ministry reveals son’s ties with regulators

Japan, Politics
Suga

Tobias Harris

On Wednesday, 24 February, Internal Affairs Minister Ryota Takeda announced the results of an internal investigation that found that 13 current and former Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) officials had violated administrative ethics rules.… Read...

Asia

February 22, 2021

JAPAN: Political stakes high as vaccination program begins

Japan, Politics

Tobias Harris

Japan has begun its vaccination program, starting with a limited campaign targeting frontline medical workers. Supply constraints could limit the government’s ability to expand the campaign beyond medical workers in the near term.… Read the rest ...

Asia

February 12, 2021

JAPAN: Mori will resign but controversy will hurt Suga

Japan, Politics
Mori

Tobias Harris

Yoshiro Mori, former prime minister and president of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizing committee, indicated on Thursday, 11 February, that he would step down amidst a growing backlash to sexist remarks about the role of women in meetings.… <a...

Asia

February 2, 2021

JAPAN: Suga still politically vulnerable as state of emergency extended

Japan, Politics
covid-19

Tobias Harris

On Tuesday, 2 February, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced that he would extend the state of emergency scheduled to end on 7 February by one month, to 7 March. Although case numbers have fallen since the state of emergency...

Asia

January 19, 2021

JAPAN: Suga, under fire as Diet reopens, seeks new powers to combat pandemic

Japan, Politics
covid-19

Tobias Harris

The ordinary session of the Diet opened on Monday, 18 January, as the Suga administration tries to contain the still-widening third wave of Covid-19. His approval ratings plummeting, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is trying to reverse the impression that his...

Asia

January 12, 2021

JAPAN: Surging caseload suggests new state of emergency is only the beginning

Japan, Politics
covid-19

Tobias Harris

On Thursday, 7 January, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga officially declared a month-long state of emergency for Tokyo and its neighboring prefectures of Chiba, Saitama, and Kanagawa. The announcement came as the country set new records for case numbers nationwide...

Asia

February 4, 2021

KOREAN PENINSULA: North Korea’s domestic woes could mean opportunity for Biden

North Korea, Politics, South Korea

Tobias Harris, Victor Cha

North Korea’s economy continues to struggle due to border closures even as the country remains highly vulnerable to Covid-19. Domestic conditions could mean Pyongyang refrains from missile or nuclear tests in the near term, creating an...