Overlooked amid the fear triggered by the coronavirus outbreak and the noise generated by the impeachment proceedings in the United States, was the announcement Tuesday in Washington of U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict.
A deal touted by Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and their supporters as "the deal of the century" was pronounced dead on arrival by the Palestinians and most independent observers.
While the terms of the deal are troubling — they are so one-sided that they risk renewed instability in the region — the greatest concern in Tokyo should be the "realism" that is said to guide the Trump administration's thinking. If this is any indication of how Trump will deal with other international issues, Japan should be worried.