IN THE VALLEY BETWEEN WAR AND PEACE: Personalities I Met, by Yasushi Akashi. European Center for Peace and Development, 2012, 119 pp., (hardcover)
The United Nations may be a popular target for critics, but it is an institution where Japan has long invested much of its foreign policy capital. Among Japan's pre-eminent diplomats, few have enjoyed a more distinguished career at the international body than Yasushi Akashi, who, despite being well past retirement age, continues playing an active role in international affairs.