Tanegashima Space Center in Japan’s Kagoshima Prefecture Author: Gerhard van Niekerk Broadly, the Japenese space programme began in the 1950s, initiated by Hideo Itokawa, or ‘Dr Rocket’, at the University of Tokyo. Initially characterised by numerous rocket launch failures (as was common among all newcomers to this industry), Japan achieved the construction of over 15-metre…
Category: Featured Stories
Author: Jacques Quass de Vos Anime, sushi, city pop, and Pokémon: what do these Japanese things have in common? The answer is rather clear, right? Add the likes of Mitsui, Hitachi, Sony, and Toyota to the list. Now include JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) and JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization). How about the 2020 Olympics?…
Author: Inge Odendaal In the past year, the debate over artificial intelligence (AI) has shifted from whether to regulate[1] it to how to regulate it effectively. Governments worldwide are grappling with the challenge of establishing regulations that can keep pace with the rapid developments in AI, respect state sovereignty, and establish international norms and practices.…
Crowd cheering at the opening game of the 2019 Rugby World Cup Author: Gerhard van Niekerk On Friday, the 8th of September, the Rugby World Cup 2023 kicked off in Paris, France, four years on from arguably one of the most successful rugby world cups ever hosted – in Japan. When discussing international test match…
Author: Cüneyt Aksoy Japan and Türkiye, seemingly very distant countries geographically, share a deeply rooted history of cultural, economic, and diplomatic relations that have advanced over the years. Although Turkish-Japanese relations have been through many phases throughout different periods and both nations’ various political iterations, it carries a friendly sentimentality reinforced with historic rescues, solidarity,…
Author: Inge Odendaal The launch of ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool, has been a watershed moment.[1] In just two months after its release in November 2022, it attracted over 100 million users, propelling generative AI into the mainstream and expanding accessibility.[2] This impact extends to Japan, where its influence on society has been…
Author: Jacques Quass de Vos South African and Japanese cities are hardly comparable unless we want to play a game of “spot-the-difference.” Firstly, its populations are vastly different: urban South Africa is comprised of a plethora of races and cultures – each one proportionally significant – as opposed to the generally homogenous population of Japan.…
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Japan’s New Security Policy
Author: Cüneyt Aksoy In December 2022, Japan unveiled a new National Security Strategy (NSS) [1] together with three additional defence-related documents, namely the National Defence Strategy, Defence Buildup Programme, and the new Guidelines on Maritime Security, that lays out its security strategy and defence priorities for forthcoming years.[2] The new National Security Strategy is only…
Author: Jacques Quass de Vos The third wave of coffee washed over Japan like a rich, aromatic tsunami. Along with it came a new kind of cultural space. Not the kind of place where you would merely buy a cup of coffee to flip open your Mac and ask for the Wi-Fi password; no, Japanese…
Author: Jacques Quass de Vos It is no secret that Japan has the highest debt-to-GDP ratio globally, clocking in at 258.2% according to the April 2023 World Economic Outlook[1]. Sources: Data from International Monetary Fund (World Economic Outlook, 2023). Japan’s General Government Gross Debt (% of GDP). Graph by Jacques Quass de Vos. Since the…