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Yomiuri Shimbun
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
With Trump Back, Japan Must Expand Foreign Policy
Four months into his second term, U.S. President Donald Trump has stunned both the American people and the wider world by his administration's rapid-fire actions, which include forcefully deporting immigrants and enacting major reforms of the federal government via the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency. On the foreign policy front, he has delivered a shock by effectively abolishing the U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as by withdrawing from the Paris Agreement on global warming and the World Health Organization. At the White House, Trump also had a spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, sending chills down the spines of many people around the world. There were fears that the Trump administration might try to push Ukraine to capitulate to Russia, in accordance with Moscow's wishes. Then, in early April, Trump announced plans to impose 'reciprocal tariffs' on almost every country and region. He set off a global panic when he added that Washington would impose additional tariffs on about 60 countries and regions with which the United States has large trade deficits. The world is being swayed by the superpower that is the United States and is struggling with how to respond to the Trump administration. This is especially true for Japan — the United States is its one and only ally and its largest target for investment abroad. It is only natural for Japan to view its relationship with the United States as the most important. However, there are more countries in the world than just the United States. Japan is now faced with the question of how to develop a comprehensive and proactive foreign policy that takes into account the entire world while maintaining appropriate relations with the United States. Actually, Japan already has the answer in its vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP). While focus has recently shifted away somewhat from this concept toward immediate Japan-U.S. relations, this is a vision that not only can endure but could prove vital during the Trump era. Though the world economy is showing signs of slowing, there are economies that have managed to sustain high growth rates and display clear signs of dynamism in their economic development. These are the coastal regions along two oceans, from the Western Pacific to Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Middle East and over to Africa, that is, the Indo-Pacific. Japan's future economic growth depends on how closely it will connect with this vast area. China is increasing its military presence in this region, including by enhancing its military strength in the Taiwan Strait. Peace in the Indo-Pacific is essential for Japan's security and economic prosperity, as well as for the development of the global economy. Buy-in from major players The vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific has been backed by major players in the region, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Australia and India. The European Union and the United Kingdom, too, share the view that the Indo-Pacific is important. In a world where U.S. actions are increasing uncertainty, this vision of FOIP has become a good insurance policy for many countries. For its part, China also views the Indo-Pacific as important, especially for its Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to create a massive economic bloc. However, China's loans for infrastructure development in the Indo-Pacific are now on the decline. By contrast, Japan's assistance is expanding in scale, and aid projects have been completed in quick succession. So, Japan's focus on a Free and Open Indo-Pacific has had real world results. Japan regards its relations with Africa and Pacific island nations as an essential part of its Indo-Pacific vision. Since 1993, Japan, the United Nations and the World Bank have co-hosted the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), with the ninth summit set to be held in August in Yokohama. Through the TICAD process, Japan has extended infrastructure support to help address Africa's development challenges as well as innovative technical support in various fields, including agriculture, education and health. In recent years, Japanese companies have become increasingly willing to invest in Africa. As for Pacific island nations, Japan has hosted the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM) since 1997. The 10th PALM summit was held in Tokyo in July 2024. Japan's detail-oriented support tailored to the challenges of each partner country has earned a high level of trust. Expanding aid Now that the Trump administration has terminated most of the USAID programs, Africa and Pacific island nations are hoping for more aid from Japan. Unlike USAID, Japan's development approach is not based on large-scale grants in aid. It is unrealistic for Japan to take over U.S. financial assistance. Still, Japan is capable of expanding its effective support. Of course, if we are considering a comprehensive strategy for Japan abroad, we should look beyond the Indo-Pacific. In my opinion, Japan will be able to make its strategy more comprehensive by strengthening its foreign policy toward Europe, inland Asia and Central and South America. Relations with Europe will become increasingly important. Cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is essential for security in the Indo-Pacific region. To that end, it is necessary to demonstrate Japan's willingness to cooperate toward the future reconstruction and security of Ukraine. The EU's member countries and the United Kingdom share the same perspective with Japan on global challenges such as global warming. Japan should join hands with Europe to provide leadership on climate change, while keeping in mind that the Trump administration is extremely passive on this issue. Turning to inland Asia, it is clear that Japan's relations with Mongolia and Central Asian countries are important. Located between Russia and China, these countries tend to be strongly influenced by their goliath neighbors, but they also harbor a strong desire to improve ties with other major powers. For Mongolia and Uzbekistan, Japan is the largest provider of official development assistance (ODA), and both countries value their relationship with Japan. In August 2024, then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had to cancel a planned trip to Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan after the Japan Meteorological Agency issued its first Nankai Trough Earthquake Extra Information advisory for a megaquake. Another tour of inland Asia by the prime minister should be arranged as soon as possible. And we should not forget Japan's relations with Central and South America. In March, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visited Japan as a state guest. Japan's ODA has been well received in the region, having supported soybean production in Brazil and salmon ranching in Chile. There is also room for cooperation via multilateral diplomacy, given that many countries in the region share democratic values with Japan and are home to people of Japanese descent. Taking a broad view in this way, it becomes clear that Japan should pursue proactive, not reactive, diplomacy based on what I call a 'FOIP+++' vision extending its arms toward Europe, inland Asia and Central and South America. Proactive diplomacy could offer a better way to deal with the Trump administration. Akihiko Tanaka Tanaka is president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), a post he took up in April 2022 for the second time after his first stint from 2012 to 2015. He also served as vice president of the University of Tokyo from 2009 to 2012. He was president of the Tokyo-based National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) from 2017 to March 2024. The original article in Japanese appeared in the May 25 of The Yomiuri Shimbun.
CTV News
10-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Privacy commission finds Alberta government failed to follow freedom of information laws
Alberta's privacy commissioner says the UCP has been breaking the rules around freedom of information requests. Alberta's privacy commissioner says the UCP has been breaking the rules around freedom of information requests. Alberta's privacy commissioner said the Government of Alberta has failed in multiple ways to uphold freedom of information policies. The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP) was passed in 1995 and requires all public bodies, including government bodies, to make eligible information available to the public. 'Access to information rights are the foundation of an individual's ability to exercise their democratic rights by facilitating access to government information,' said Diane McLeod, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta, in a report on her findings. 'Accountability is the cornerstone of the exercise of good governance,' she continued. 'Acting accountably within the context of the FOIP Act requires that government administer its responsibilities under the FOIP Act in a manner that not only respects these rights but also adheres to the spirit and intent of the Act.' The report details an investigation launched in regards to 34 requests for review filed over alleged refusals to process access requests by Alberta government public bodies. It found 27 Government of Alberta public bodies failed to uphold FOIP principals, with violations including: Refusing access requests on the basis applicants didn't provide enough information; Requiring applicants to limit the number of topics in a request to one; Limiting the time frame on the search for records; and Requiring applications to split requests containing multiple topics into multiple requests. McLeod also found the Government of Alberta had issued directives and policies that allowed staff to refuse access requests in a way not permitted under the FOIP act. The privacy commissioner made several recommendations to resolve the issues she found and said she expects them to be followed, despite provincial plans to repeal the FOIP act and replace it with the Access to Information Act. 'My findings and recommendations in this report are in large part still valid under the new legislation. This is because the relevant provisions of the new Act are the same or substantially similar to the provisions of the FOIP Act,' McLeod said. 'For that reason, I expect government public bodies to apply my findings and recommendations to their practices under both the existing and the new legislation.' In an email to The Canadian Press, a spokesperson for Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally said the ministry is considering the privacy commissioner's findings and plans to work with McLeod to address concerns. The full report can be accessed here.
Calgary Herald
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Alberta government failed to follow access to information rules
In a new report, Alberta's information and privacy commissioner has found that the provincial government relied on policies that broke access to information laws and were used to improperly refuse to process some requests for public records. Article content Article content The report was released Friday and comes after a 21 month-long investigation into how the provincial government handles requests made under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP). Article content Article content In the report, Information and Privacy Commissioner Diane McLeod outlined how 27 public bodies relied on policies that 'do not align with the purposes of the act', with McLeod noting, 'accountability is the cornerstone of the exercise of good governance.' Article content Article content 'There is only one choice that these public bodies have, and that is to administer these provisions in accordance with the act and in such a manner that ensures Albertans are able to effectively exercise these rights.' Article content The investigation centred around how government departments interpreted three sections of the FOIP act related to the wording of requests, the creation of records in response to requests, and the department's duty to assist the public in accessing records. Article content McLeod found multiple breaches of the act around how the government required requests to be structured, including: limiting requests to one topic, restricting the time frame of the search for records, and splitting requests with multiple topics into several new requests at the cost of more fees. Article content Article content She noted the government refused to combine multiple existing records and create one new record, as required for the act. Article content Departments also did not live up to part of the act requiring them to 'make every reasonable effort to assist applicants' in accessing information, according to the report. Article content McLeod recommended overhauling those policies to better align with the act and improve responses to information requests. Article content The office for Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally acknowledged Postmedia's request for comment Friday afternoon.
Edmonton Journal
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Edmonton Journal
Alberta government failed to follow access to information rules
Article content In a new report, Alberta's information and privacy commissioner has found that the provincial government relied on policies that broke access to information laws and were used to improperly refuse to process some requests for public records. The report was released Friday and comes after a 21 month-long investigation into how the provincial government handles requests made under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP).
Japan Times
14-02-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Why ASEAN is crucial to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific
Since late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe created the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) strategy in 2016, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has been pivotal to connecting the fast-growing Indian Ocean and Pacific regions. Japan has stepped up engagement with ASEAN for over a decade. Upon taking office for his second term in 2012, Abe made his first official visit to three of the bloc's countries — Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia — declaring that 'Japan will walk alongside ASEAN as an equal partner.' And this position has been kept alive by Abe's successors. In 2023, Kishida referred to Southeast Asian nations as Japan's 'closest and most crucial partners' in the Global South. The reason behind Tokyo's approach is simple — maintaining the
