K-SEC
Meeting SummaryJune 18, 2013
Here is a quick summary of the articles we read in the K-SEC meeting on June17, 2013.
A. Attendees (in ABC order):
Iuchi, Kanzawa, Kotake, Nishimura, Okai, Sekiguchi, Tomozawa, Tsurumoto, (total of 8)
B. Materials read:
1. Three articles related with India’s PM: Mr. Manmohan Singh’s visit to Japan- Kotake
Kotake-san choose three newspaper articles reporting on Mr. Singh’s recent visit to Japan. All three articles are from Indian newspapers.
The papers reported that PM said that India has put Japan at the heart of their “Look East policy” and that“India and the world have a strong economic and strategic interest in Japan’s success.”
One of the newspapers reported that Mr. Singh said “We should intensify our political dialogueand expand our strategic consultations on regions and issues of mutual interest.”
In 2008, Mr. Singh signed a security agreement with Japan, which put India, along with the US and Australia as Japan’s top three security partners in the world and that also saw the birth of the term “Indo-Pacific” into India’s discourse.
All of the articles heavily emphasizedwhat Chinese said about India’s actions.
According to the Indian newspapers, the state-run People’s Daily (人民日報) criticized India’s actions bystrongly worded editorial saying, counseled that New Delhi’s wisdom lies in dealing with its disputes with Beijing calmly undisturbed by “internal and international provocations.”
It reported, under the same breath, that it lashed out at Japanese politicians, terming them“petty burglars” on China-related issues.
Although we are keenly aware of the Senkaku issues, we do not put much interest in Indo-Chinese territorial issues which are not a hot subject in Japanese newspapers but now we know.
2. Shinzo Abe has a vision of a prosperous and patriotic Japan- Sekiguchi
This is anEconomistmagazine article dated May 18, 2013.Sekiguchi-san says that this is the first time a Japanese prime minister appeared on the front cover.
Despite of the embarrassing mid-term resignation of his first prime minister term in 2007, Shinzo Abe seems to be a completely different person to everybody including this foreign correspondent.
He says that “Today, not yet five months into his second term, Mr. Abe seems to be a new man. He has put Japan on a regime of ‘Abenomics’, a mix of reflation, government spending and growth strategy designed to jolt the economy out of the suspended animation that has gripped it for more than two decades.”
The author mentions two concerns. The first is that Mr. Abe may “go soft”by postponing the consumption tax increase due in 2014-2015 if the second-quarter growth is poor. The second is that Mr. Abe seems to be very aggressive in foreign policies. He says that Mr. Abe has stirred up ill will with China and South Korea by asking whether imperial Japan (for which his father helped run occupied Manchuria) really was an aggressor.
Mr. Abe is not the first polo titian to promise to revitalize his country-- the land of the rising sun has seen more than its share of false dawns--.
In a page long article, the author predicts that “he will be remembered as a great prime minister if he is half successful. ”
3. Windows 8.1Operating system - Tomozawa
This is a New York Times article about Microsoft’s new Windows operating system.
Microsoft is planning to introduce the new Windows OS, an 8.1 version by the end of this year, after only 8 months of the official release of the current generation software, Windows 8.
What’s new?
Yes, Microsoft is bringing back some comforting hallmarks of its Windows operation system, including the Start menu. No, it is not chucking out the modern, touch friendly, tile based look of Windows 8, the new version of the software that has sent much of the PC industry, many pundits and some computer shoppers into a tizzy.
The reception of the Windows 8 last fall was not great. There were score of criticism against unfamiliar look of the “touch sensitive tile” window.
Microsoft is insisting that this is not an U-turn but it is apparent that they are too much ahead of the public and trying to adjust their strategy. They are trying to mix touch screen feature of iPad with desktop Windows system. After all, Microsoft is trying to catch up with the innovative power of Apple.
C. Assignment for July 1st meeting
To be announce shortly by Sadayasu-san.
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