Michael Richardson - The Japan Times

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Michael Richardson

For Michael Richardson's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

COMMENTARY

Dec 19, 2012

Supply surge jolts 'peak oil' theory

The entrenched notion that the world will soon start running short of oil was jolted earlier this year when an expert study concluded that, contrary to what most people believe, oil-supply capacity is expanding so fast that it will outpace consumption by a wide margin in the next few years.

COMMENTARY

Dec 13, 2012

New gas resources raise regional energy stakes

North American natural gas companies, in the midst of tapping vast new reserves from underground shale rock, are looking to energy-hungry Asia as the main future market for the cleanest burning fossil fuel.

COMMENTARY

Nov 28, 2012

As the world grows warmer, concern cools down

A recent report on the humdrum subject of plans to build new coal-burning plants to generate electricity helps to explain why Asia — led by China and India — is now at the epicenter of concern about global warming and climate change.

COMMENTARY

Sep 27, 2012

Senkaku row reverberates across Southeast Asia

China's recent conduct in its bitter dispute with Japan over the ownership of islands, fisheries and seabed resources in the East China Sea raises some geopolitical storm warnings for Southeast Asia.

COMMENTARY

Sep 20, 2012

Territorial row is a ticking time bomb for Asia

As the struggle to control disputed islands and valuable offshore resources has intensified in the East and South China Seas over the past few years, the United States has said repeatedly that it does not take sides in the disagreements among Asian countries over who has ownership rights.

COMMENTARY

Sep 12, 2012

New ships give China's navy a stronger punch

In the latest step in its naval modernization and expansion, China recently announced that it is accelerating serial production of an advanced destroyer. This will tilt the regional balance of power at sea in its favor and put it in a stronger position to enforce its sovereignty claims over Taiwan and in the South and East China Seas.

COMMENTARY

Sep 5, 2012

Nuclear edge to sea disputes

The tug of war over the South China Sea is seen mainly as a struggle among rival claimants —China, Taiwan and several Southeast Asian states — for control of valuable fisheries as well as seabed oil, natural gas and mineral resources.

COMMENTARY

Aug 29, 2012

Tensions rise in Northeast Asia

Japan and South Korea, allies of the United States since World War II, are supposed to be part of an Asia-Pacific counterbalance to China's growing power and its expansive maritime and island claims in East Asia's seas. Instead, an upwelling of nationalism as the region marked the Aug. 15 anniversary of the end a war that devastated the region, showed how fragile reconciliation is, even among nominal friends, decades after the fighting ended.

COMMENTARY

Aug 22, 2012

Region could drive a global economic revival

Amid concerns about sagging growth in both advanced and developing economies, Japan — which is heavily dependent on Asian demand — may take heart from the region's potential to drive a global revival.

COMMENTARY

Aug 8, 2012

New tech raises proliferation risk

The United States is on the verge of approving a license later this month for the world's first plant to enrich uranium on a commercial scale for civilian nuclear power reactors using laser technology developed by an Australian company.

COMMENTARY

Jul 30, 2012

China's gunboat diplomacy

There is a saying in international diplomacy: Watch what countries do, rather than what they say.

COMMENTARY

Jul 19, 2012

Time to dial down Senkakus friction

Japan's ambassador to China warned last month that plans by the Tokyo municipal government to buy islands in the East China Sea claimed by Beijing but administered by Japan could trigger an "extremely grave crisis" between East Asia's two top powers.

COMMENTARY

Jun 28, 2012

China's iron fist in a velvet glove

China could easily grab control of the disputed Scarborough Shoal fishing grounds in the South China Sea using its increasingly modern and powerful armed forces. Chinese naval, air and amphibious units, working in unison, already have the capability to enforce Beijing's claims of island ownership and maritime control in the northern sector of the sea, where the shoal is located just 220 km from the Philippine mainland.

COMMENTARY

Jun 13, 2012

China's demographic crunch

Just four years from now, China will pass a milestone. Its huge workforce will peak and start shrinking. This will make it more difficult for the world's second largest economy to continue the turbo-charged growth that has played a key role in the rise not just of China, but also its Asia-Pacific trade and investment partners like Japan. They depend heavily on exports to the Chinese market.

COMMENTARY

Jun 7, 2012

Thirst for energy driving China's foreign policy

The United States and China, the world's top users of energy, are heading in opposite directions. It is a trend that has major geostrategic implications for the Asia-Pacific region.

COMMENTARY

May 8, 2012

Cutting-edge navy vessels deploy to Singapore

Four high-speed U.S. Navy vessels will soon start operating from Singapore. They will be the new face of the U.S. Navy for maritime policing and partnership-building in Asia-Pacific waters, where many countries in the region are trying to find a way to balance the rise of China without provoking a military confrontation.

COMMENTARY

Apr 19, 2012

The North Korean wild card

In a quantum leap over North Korea's controversial though unsuccessful long-range rocket launch on April 13, India plans to test not just one but three ballistic missiles in quick succession over the next week, including the first firing of its Agni 5 missile with a range of 5,000 kilometers.

COMMENTARY

Apr 11, 2012

More than a satellite at stake

In 1998, North Korea caused widespread alarm by firing a rocket over Japan's main island of Honshu into the Pacific Ocean. It followed this provocative move by more long-range missile tests in 2006 and 2009.

COMMENTARY

Apr 5, 2012

U.S. and allies move to counter Chinese power

The pieces of a new strategic kaleidoscope in the Asia-Pacific region are starting to fall into place as allies and security partners of the United States seek to deter China from using or threatening force to achieve its expansive aims, particularly in the South China Sea, which forms the maritime heart of Southeast Asia.

COMMENTARY

Apr 4, 2012

Why Cameron's Mariana Trench dive matters

Most people live and work on land. Some journey by air, or go to sea. But all return to the land. Our terrestrial view of the world defines exploration.

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.

Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima

Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima

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