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David Tweed
For David Tweed's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2018
Departure of Jim Mattis stirs world of worries from Brussels to Beijing
The abrupt resignation of U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has governments from Seoul to Brussels on edge, as the reliability of American alliances and the direction of policy under an erratic leader comes increasingly under question.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 9, 2018
North Korea reminds Trump its nuclear weapons won't come cheap
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went to Pyongyang to get Kim Jong Un to give up his nuclear weapons. He left with a harsh reminder that the North Korean leader expects something in return.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Mar 27, 2018
Kim Jong Un and John Bolton take different lessons from Libya and Gadhafi's fall
The last remnants of Libya's nuclear program were loaded onto an aircraft in 2009 and shipped out of the country, part of a U.S.-brokered deal with dictator Moammar Gadhafi to disarm in return for sanctions relief. Two years later, NATO-backed rebels brutally killed him.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 27, 2018
Military control of Chinese coast guard adds edge to sea disputes
China's decision to give its top military body control over the country's vast coast guard has increased concerns about the risk of miscalculation in the disputed waters of East Asia.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 18, 2017
Vietnam follows Beijing with South China Sea upgrades of its own
As China continues to transform disputed territory in the South China Sea into features capable of sustaining air and naval bases, Vietnam is also upgrading areas it occupies.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Sep 27, 2017
China's biggest North Korea taboo: Discussing life after Kim
In discussions between the U.S. and China about reining in North Korea, one topic remains taboo: What would happen if Kim Jong Un's regime collapses?
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 17, 2017
Could North Korea copy Nazi Germany in event of a total oil ban?
As the U.S. and its allies look to impose even stricter measures against North Korea, leader Kim Jong Un could find inspiration from oppressive regimes of yesteryear in Nazi Germany and Apartheid-era South Africa.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 10, 2017
Hello Hong Kong: China's army turns on charm with weekend shows
From 700 sailors spelling out "Hello Hong Kong" on the deck to youthful soldiers singing about iPads and smartphones, China's People's Liberation Army used the first port call in Hong Kong by its aircraft carrier to turn on the charm.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jul 2, 2017
China dismissal of U.K. treaty on Hong Kong renews doubts about its word
China's dismissive critique of the U.K. treaty governing the return of Hong Kong raised new doubts about its commitment to the city's autonomy and other international agreements.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 30, 2016
Who had the worst year? How Asian leaders fared in 2016
In a year dominated by Brexit and Donald Trump's surprise U.S. election win, Asia felt like a relatively stable part of the world. A closer look shows that the region endured its own seismic events in 2016, from a Philippine leader embracing China to massive street protests in Seoul to the elimination of 86 percent of India's hard currency.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 15, 2016
Trump's top diplomat would carry Chinese baggage from Exxon days
President-elect Donald Trump's pick for top U.S. diplomat comes with Chinese geopolitical entanglements. In his favor is years of dealing with some of the country's biggest oil companies.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 16, 2016
Duterte’s tilt toward China may upend U.S. pivot to Asia
Just when some of China's neighbors were seeking to curtail its expansionism, along came Rodrigo Duterte.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 5, 2016
Southeast Asian leaders prepare to welcome Obama for last time as he attends Laos ASEAN meet
Barack Obama's push to rebalance U.S. foreign policy toward Asia will be the focus of his last visit to the region as president. With a trade deal hanging in the balance of a U.S. election that has free-trade advocates in both major parties on the defensive, Obama will seek to reassure Association of Southeast Asian Nation leaders that the accord can get through Congress.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 12, 2016
Rocks, reefs and recriminations: a South China Sea glossary
An international Court issues its ruling Tuesday on a challenge brought by the Philippines to China's claim to more than 80 percent of the South China Sea.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 15, 2016
Chinese-ASEAN meeting on South China Sea ends in confusion
A meeting between Chinese and ASEAN ministers over the South China Sea has ended in confusion after Malaysia released and then retracted a joint statement that expressed "serious concerns" over developments in the disputed waterway.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 7, 2016
Disputed shoal may become military line in sand on South China Sea
Global defense chiefs meeting in a plush hotel in Singapore over the weekend were faced with one of Asia's biggest looming security challenges, but left without any tangible sense of how to tackle it.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 5, 2016
Military spending rises across Asia as China expands its reach
Global defense contractors are circling for business in Asia, with countries from Australia to Vietnam upgrading and adding everything from submarines to fighter jets as China expands its military reach.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 10, 2016
Kim taps image of his grandfather, North Korea's eternal leader, to project power
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is attempting to move away from the "grim" era of his father as he seeks to project power by tapping the charismatic image of his grandfather — the nation's revered founder and "eternal leader" Kim Il Sung.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 1, 2016
China's new tactic in disputed waters: playing by the rules
The professionalism displayed by China's navy in some of the world's most contested seas is masking an underlying challenge to the existing order in the East China Sea and South China Sea that must be resisted, according to a report by an Australian security think tank.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 24, 2016
Young voters' fear of 'Hell Chosun' puts South Korea's Park on back foot
Spend any time on South Korean social media sites, and you're bound to see the phrase "Hell Chosun." For Korean millennials, that refers to the hellish future that lies ahead. Such youthful disillusionment goes a long way toward explaining the electoral drubbing voters gave President Park Geun-hye's ruling party in this month's parliamentary election.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores