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Power Sourcing Japan's Race for Resources by Willhemina Wahlin and Kaoru Natsuda It's only natural that in light of the high level of consumption in the developed world in the last 100 years, something was going to have to give. Now, in an increasingly unstable world, where developing nations are quickly developing and developed nations are quietly panicking, governments are beginning to take the idea of resource security very seriously indeed. Japan, one of the world's most resource-poor countries, recently unveiled the New National Energy Strategy (NNES) - an aggressive plan to procure sources of energy to keep its economy humming. The Japanese will use their expertise in energy-efficient technology and such things as Official Development Assistance (ODA) and the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to exploit other countries' energy sources. But they must work quickly. Geopolitical lines are already being drawn in the sand. Japan may have to sacri...
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Can Japan Please Stand Up? Japan’s bid for a UNSC permanent seat: pipe dream or viability? July 3, 2008 J@pan Inc Magazine Articles Magazine No 78 By Willhemina Wahlin and Dr Kaoru Natsuda There seems to be one point agreed on by almost everyone when it comes to the United Nations Security Council: It’s a time capsule of the post-World War II global power structure, hardly representative of the 21st Century political landscape, and reform is badly needed. But here the consensus comes to an abrupt halt. The sticking point: everyone seems to want an expansion of the permanent seats available, but no one can seem to agree on how many, and to whom the honor should be bestowed upon—and why. Japan has long been campaigning for permanent membership of one of the most exclusive clubs in the world, but it has an uphill battle ahead if it is to convince its closest neighbors that it deserves one. But the real question is, does anyone really deserve a seat? More This article was originally publi...
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Remembering Marla A tribute to Marla Ruzicka (1976-2005) Marla Ruzicka was tragically killed in a car bomb explosion in Iraq on April 16 2005, along with her co-worker and friend Faiz Ali Salim. One year on, we take a look at what CIVIC, the organisation she founded, still has to say about the innocent victims of war, and how they choose to remember Marla. ________________________ I confess that a year ago, when I heard of the tragic death of a woman I had never heard of before that night, I cried. Marla Ruzicka, a young Californian woman, was killed by a car bomb in Baghdad on April 16 2005, along with her friend and co-worker Faiz Ali Salim. She had travelled extensively to both Afghanistan and Iraq, her main mission to try to get aid to civilians who have been harmed by the US wars in both countries. In an online journal entry on June 25 2004, she had this, almost prophetically, to say: “Back in Baghdad and happy. A good friend of mine, advised me to keep my movements minimal in t...
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