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May 04, 2024
 

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Pavin Chachavalpongpun

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Pavin Chachavalpongpun
For Pavin Chachavalpongpun's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 2016
ASEAN and Brexit's lessons
ASEAN would do well to take a lesson from the European Union and Britain's vote to leave it.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2016
Thailand playing a risky game with China, Russia
The Thai military regime's 'bamboo diplomacy' of playing Russia and China off against the U.S. could prove to be myopic in the game of international politics.
COMMENTARY / World
May 6, 2016
Aug. 7 will be a day of reckoning for Thailand
The current draft of Thailand's new constitution, up for referendum on Aub. 7, is would serve to shrink the democratic space, rather than widen it.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 3, 2016
Under military rule, Thais turn to social media
As the space for public political debate and opinion shrinks, Thais have moved their political debate to cyberspace.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 7, 2016
U.S. must continue to promote democracy in Southeast Asia
Because of its focus on containing China, the U.S. appears reluctant about pressing the Thai military to step aside for the sake of democracy.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2016
Thai military risks weakening the monarchy
The Thai military's overuse of lese majeste law to prop up its own authority risks weakening the monarchy over the long term.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2015
Thailand in 2015: a year of spinning its wheels
Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha's promises to launch a number of projects to put Thailand back on the track toward democracy have proven empty.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2015
Flaws in ASEAN's community-building effort
At the end of this year, the process for turning the Association of Southeast Asian Nations into a single community will begin to take shape. Yet pending community-building projects still need to be achieved and existing problems solved.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 2015
Chomsky's take on the state of Thai democracy
Noted academic and commentator Noam Chomsky takes a keen interest in the political wars embroiling Thailand.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2015
Thai terror blast a symptom of deeper illness
Thailand remains the 'sick man' of Southeast Asia, and the terrorist attack in Bangkok has exacerbated its condition.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 13, 2015
Thailand and China build ties of convenience
The Thai military regime, isolated by the West, finds that China is more than willing to fill the void.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 3, 2015
Thai monarchy on verge of dramatic change
With King Bhumibol Adulyadej in the twilight of his reign, Thailand's politically potent monarchy is in for a time of upheaval.
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2015
Rohingya refugee crisis shames Southeast Asia
ASEAN members are failing to adequately address the humanitarian crisis involving the Rohingya Muslim boat people.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2015
Thailand plays the Russia card
The renewed friendly relations between Thailand and Russia must be analyzed in the context of the turbulence in Thai domestic politics.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 22, 2015
Nothing will silence anti-coup Thais in Japan
It is difficult to estimate how many Thais who oppose the current military government in Bangkok reside in Japan, but clearly some of them have become more politically active than their counterparts living in Western countries.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 5, 2015
Thai general to solicit Japan
Thailand's self-appointed prime minister will pay an official visit to Tokyo on Sunday to sign a deal involving on a high-speed train project and to seek Japan's endorsement of his country's military government.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 25, 2015
ASEAN captain Malaysia prepares to set sail into maritime disputes, 'democratic recession'
As Malaysia takes over the ASEAN chairmanship for 2015, it faces the challenges of intractable territorial disputes in the South China Sea and the 'democratic recession' in the region.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 28, 2014
Thai regime plays royal card to silence critics
The military regime in Thailand appears to be trying to silence political critics of the monarchy by charging them with lese-majeste offenses.
COMMENTARY
Dec 4, 2014
Thai crown prince causing the elites anxiety
Beneath the celebration of the Thai king's birthday lies unease among the elites over the eventual royal transition of the Crown Prince, now said to be in the first stage of divorcing his third wife.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 13, 2014
China not ready to write off the Shinawatras
Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatras' recent trip to China and Japan should remind the Thai junta that no country will put all its eggs in one basket.
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
Yen swings stir talk that Japan is in the FX market once again
An electronic screen in Tokyo displays the yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar and the graph showing its recent swings, on Thursday.
Harajuku strives to reclaim its former glory — and surpass it
Laforet Harajuku, which celebrated its 45th anniversary last year, has been a witness to the district's evolution over the years.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Japan's May 1 intervention may have cost ¥3.66 trillion, BOJ data suggests
An electronic screen displays a graph showing Japanese yen exchange rates surging against the dollar amid signs of intervention by authorities, in Tokyo on Thursday.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

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