6/25 Issue
Iraq presents a “confounding” challenge for the U.S. The Washington Post notes that much of the fault lies with Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who has subordinated national interests to sectarian interests. This makes it imprudent for the U.S. to support his government, but neither can the U.S. stand back as “an al-Qaeda-style ‘caliphate’” gains ground across an increasingly large swath of the Middle East. Given the complexity, the Post believes President Obama is making “a judicious start.”
Writing on the same subject, the New York Times also believes that “President Obama has, so far, struck the right note on Iraq,” with his steps towards cautious engagement. Alas, the Middle East is not the only hot spot. Writing separately, the New York Times asserts that “any reasonable American strategy for managing China’s increasingly aggressive actions in Asia depends heavily on cooperation with Japan and South Korea.” Unfortunately, Japan’s Prime Minister again appears to be fraying relations with South Korea by pandering to the “political fringe.”
Despite their differences, China and Japan are facing some similar issues. The Economist writes that changing norms are forcing older generations to contemplate futures where their children may not be able to look after them in old age. This is creating a new opportunity for retirement homes, many of them quite stylish.
Looking to the future and concerned by low interest rates, Institutional Investor notes that more fund managers are embracing commercial real estate as a relatively safe investment that allows them “to match long-term liabilities and fight inflation.”
The Financial Times writes that with an eye to the future two of Shinzo Abe’s “arrows have hit their targets, jolting the Japanese economy back into life,” but laments that his third arrow of structural reforms remains in its quiver.
And Euromoney writes of the growing need for regulatory co-ordination in Asia. Banking and capital flows into the continent have increased exponentially, but there remains “no single authority to call…. Diverse markets, conflicting interests and failed policymaking add to the regulatory challenge.”
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To see the overseas media’s takes on these and other developments, you can browse the Global News highlights in app or at http://www.irken.jp/gn/. Links to the original sources are provided above, but please note these are frequently updated. Links that were valid at publication may later be broken.
