This report examines Japan’s evolving defense and security policies within the context of intensifying regional and global challenges, focusing on its role in the Indo-Pacific and expanding partnerships with Europe and NATO. Japan perceives its strategic environment as becoming increasingly unstable. It has identified several major risks to its national security: North Korea’s advanced missile…
Categorie: Leiden Asia Centre
The Netherlands and South Korea: From Semiconductors to Universities
Recent years have seen increasing economic and technological separation between the United States and China, often referred to as ‘decoupling’. In a bid to restrict China’s access to sensitive technology, the United States recently introduced new export controls for semiconductor technology. It is anticipated that current US measures will persist and potentially strengthen in pursuit…
Public Health in Asia duringthe COVID-19 Pandemic
Global Health Governance, Migrant Labour, and International Health Crises Anoma van der Veere (Edited by), Florian Schneider (Edited by), Catherine Lo (Edited by), et al. In collaboration with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) and the IAFOR Research Centre at OSIPP (IRC), the LeidenAsiaCentre is conducting a research that examines how global health governance and international labour…
From Pneumonia to Pragmatism: The Role of the WHO in Japan During Public Health Emergencies
This book chapter examines the role of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the formulation of Japan’s responses to the SARS, MERS, and COVID-19 public health crises. During these crises, the WHO was used as a neutral and scientific source of information, and thus managed to influence Japan’s responses. However, trust in the organization has…
Introduction to Public Health in Asia during the COVID-19 Pandemic: COVID-19 and Asia
In late 2019, the world watched closely as cases of an unknown virus causing pneumonia started spreading through Wuhan province in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Gradually, more cases were being reported, and on Saturday 11 January 2020 Chinese state media announced the first fatality (Qin and Hernández 2020). While the virus, now more…
A Study of Tokyo 2020 ‘Game Changer Project’ between the Netherlands and Japan: Leveraging Disability Sports in Local Communities in Japan
The “Game Changer Project” (GCP) is an on-going effort to spread disability sports in Japan using the Tokyo 2020 Games as a catalyst for change. The project offers valuable insights into how positive outcomes for sports mega-events (SME) can be realized through strategic leveraging, rather than relying on ambiguous conceptualizations such as “legacy”. Exploring how…
How Asia Confronts COVID-19 through Technology – South Korea: Containing COVID-19 through Big Data
Anoma P. van der Veere and Sungbin Ha South Korea’s early success in containing the spread of COVID-19 was due to its integration of broad testing, strict enforcement of quarantine guidelines, the use of big data and user-friendly applications, and regulations in terms of data sharing capabilities. The country will be among the first in…
How Asia Confronts COVID-19 through Technology – Japan’s Fragmented Response: Technology, Governance, and COVID-
Japanese efforts to contain the spread of the virus have been undermined by a failure to adjust to new developments in the pandemic, a lack of information, and a decentralised response. This is despite the implementation of several mitigation strategies. The government has employed public surveys for data collection, making use of an existing and…
‘Slaves to the System’ and Awareness of North Korean Forced Labour
Anoma P. van der Veere and Marte C.H. Boonen Almost two years have passed since the first report on North Korean forced labour in the European Union was released to the public. The effects have been felt in the chambers of the International Labour Organization, the European Parliament, national diets across the world, and most…