Across East Asia, a growing number of young people are choosing not to participate in a hyper-competitive job market that generates diminishing returns. Instead of pursuing upward mobility through long working hours, they opt for reduced ambition and emotional self-protection. In China, this phenomenon is often described as tangping (lying flat). In Japan and South… Continue reading Opting out of the system: Youth withdrawal and state response in East Asia
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s personality has brought the ruling LDP an unprecedented supermajority. Yet even with more than two-thirds of the seats in the Lower House, the LDP may face unexpected pressures during its upcoming rule. Key takeaways: The LDP secured a two-thirds supermajority in the Lower House for the first time since World War… Continue reading “Sana-mania” leads to a supermajority: What’s next for Japan?
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has decided to stake everything on her popularity by dissolving the House of Representatives, the country’s lower house, and calling snap elections for 8 February. Key takeaways: Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolved the lower house on 23 January, with elections set for 8 February, betting that her personal popularity will… Continue reading As Japanese PM dissolves parliament, will she face an electoral struggle or steamroll the opposition?
Myanmar’s junta is staging elections amid an ongoing civil war not to restore democracy but to manufacture legitimacy. The vote is designed to entrench military rule and provide international cover for continued violence. Key takeaways: The sham elections are an attempt to legitimize military rule. International actors should side with the public’s continued rejection of… Continue reading Staging legitimacy: Why the world should ignore Myanmar’s sham elections
Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has broken a barrier that stood for centuries — but her victory signals continuity more than change. A conservative shaped by Shinzo Abe’s legacy, she inherits a fractured political landscape and a public exhausted by corruption and stagnation. Her rise is historic, yet her agenda suggests Japan is… Continue reading A woman takes power in Japan for the first time in history. Is there really reason to celebrate?
