ISDP Voices

Despite their relative economic and strategic insignificance, the Kuril Islands, especially the southernmost part of the chain, known in Japan as the Northern Territories, have long played a decisive role in determining the state of Russian-Japanese relations. More than a piece of territory, the islands hold immense symbolic value for both parties, and to leave […]

Joseph Zen is a well known and beloved cardinal of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong. He has served as the sixth Bishop of the city. In 2006 Zen was appointed Cardinal by the Pope and has been outspoken on issues regarding human rights, political freedom and religious liberty. His strong ties with the pro-democracy […]

Seen from a Russian-Chinese perspective, in many ways Ukraine and Taiwan are similar. Both nations are ethnically, socially and culturally deeply connected to their main adversary. Both are democracies, eager to break out of the Communist mold and become vibrant capitalist economies. Both look for support from the West, especially the US, and have considerable […]

On April 21, 2022, Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM or the Global Fund) paid a courtesy visit to Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa. Hayashi praised the role of the Global Fund for combatting the three major infectious diseases in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. […]

Introduction The global energy transition towards renewable resources requires the mass deployment of battery storage technologies. Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are expected to play a crucial role due to their superior energy density over alternative forms of battery technologies. In terms of applications, Li-ion batteries are already widely used for large-scale stationary energy storage, portable electronic […]

In order to understand another’s perspective we often say ─put yourself in his/her shoes ─but we are not putting ourselves in Kim Jong Un’s shoes when North Korea announced their difficulty over Covid-19 crisis on May 12 for the first time, as many across the world are naively ingesting whatever North Korean news outlets are […]

John Lee’s election as Chief Executive of Hong Kong demonstrates what elections mean now in Hong Kong as well as Beijing’s hardline policy towards the territory.  The pro-democracy movement refused to take part in the elections to the Legislative Council and the Election Committee constituted for the election of the Chief Executive in the past […]

After World War II, Japan, much like Germany, quickly caught up with the richest of countries in terms of economic development and standards of living. Yet, unlike Germany, and indeed any other highly developed democracy, Japan still lags significantly in one such indicator of human development, namely female political representation. While this discrepancy could be […]

Vladimir Putin has his own rhythm of war that lingers in his ears but the rhythm of the combat he expected in Ukraine has reduced its speed from ‘Presto’ to ‘Adagio.’ Putin has ordered his military to play the war drums faster but is still stuck in the ‘Andante’ at its best.  A big concert […]

Stalin should be praised for his efforts to modernize the Soviet Union, while Khrushchev was too influenced by the West and Gorbachev’s glasnost and perestroika paved the way for the collapse of the Soviet Union. Above all, Putin should be praised for making the Russians proud and patriotic again and for cleansing the country from […]