20110420

Post-earthquake Japan-Korea ties

by The Diplomat

NHK live broadcasts on the tsunami that swept coastal villages in Eastern Japan on March 11 were a shocking scene to the Korean people. Japan now confronts the aftermath of triple natural disasters-an earthquake of a record 9.0 magnitude, a devastating tsunami and the threat of radioactive contamination-that have left tens of thousands dead and missing, and hundreds of thousands still struggling to survive at crowded shelters. Following the daily progress of crisis, Koreans moved quickly to help the Japanese. The Korean government's decision to dispatch a rescue team within days of the earthquake was the earliest action taken by any foreign government. Korea sent 53 tons of boric acid to help control the badly broken Fukushima nuclear plants, and on March 19, delivered 100 tons of water and 6,000 blankets for the Japanese people in shelters. (The Diplomat)

Japan, the forgotten protectionist threat

by csmonitor.com

Everyone's worried about China today on the trade front. And they should be. But let's not forget that China is only the most brazen player of one-way free trade out there. We ran a $273 billion deficit with China in 2010, but we also ran an $80 billion deficit with the European Union and a $60 billion deficit with Japan. These rich-country trade deficits are in some ways more alarming than our deficit with China, because they are emphatically not the result of cheap foreign labor. In fact, nearly a dozen European countries now pay their manufacturing workers better than we do. (csmonitor.com)

New test for teachers as Japan's schools move to reopen

by csmonitor.com

Kiyo Hiratsuka is on the longest spring vacation of his life. The 12-year-old student was supposed to start middle school on April 8. Instead, he's spending his time reading comics, drawing cartoons, and playing board games in a classroom in his former elementary school, which he now shares with 312 other Ishinomaki residents left homeless by the colossal tsunami and earthquake that struck Japan last month. School gets a delayed start on April 21, but Kiyo isn't sure if he's excited or anxious. "I have no idea what it'll be like," he says, slouched on a blanket next to his mother. (csmonitor.com)