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This essay considers the state of the contemporary Circumpolar World and provides a general overview of the way the various circumpolar jurisdictions are addressing the challenges and opportunities of the twenty-fi rst century. It considers how northern areas are attracting the resources necessary to lessen the socio-economic divide between northern and southern/urban areas. An overview of infrastructure, basic services, economic development, regional leadership, security, Indigenous governance, and plans for the future of the countries and regions that make up the Circumpolar North reveals signifi cant strengths and challenges. This examination focuses, in particular, on where Canada sits in comparison to its northern neighbours, a perspective that does not always put Canada in the best light. In many respects, Canada’s efforts in the North lag—sometimes considerably—behind circumpolar norms (aside from Russia). National and sub-national governments in Canada have not always attracted the funding, commitment, and vision needed to capitalize on the political, technological, and economic resources needed to better serve the peoples of the North; in recent years, some Arctic regions have done much better than others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Government of Japan is pursuing an ambitious policy programme, Society 5.0, designed to respond to the formidable economic and social challenges facing Japan and the world, capitalize on Japanese technological sophistication and commercialization abilities, and provide a coordinated, forward-looking strategy that could ensure Japan's leadership in the technological revolution. Society 5.0 is the label attached to a vision of 'whole of government, business and academia' plan to integrate new technological systems across various fields to the benefit of humanity. This paper explores the conceptual background, rationale, policies and programmes Japan has enacted in pursuit of this vision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural decline has emerged as a major political and policy issue in many countries, including rapidly developing nations like Vietnam. National and local/regional governments are searching for policy solutions to rural depopulation, economic stagnation, and employment losses associated with rapid technological change. In some countries, particularly in the Western and industrial world, rural frustrations transformed into political unrest. Vietnam has a more complicated rural reality, marked by modest declines in population, the improvement of rural infrastructure, and significant advances in well-being. Rural conditions, however, have not improved as fast as in the country's major cities, which can add to a sense of rural unease and dissatisfaction even when material conditions are improving. This assessment, based on fifteen years of regular observation across rural Vietnam, highlights the difference between the situation in Vietnam and general patterns of rural decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Already leading the world in the development of consumer electronics, South Korea and Japan have been leading innovators in the creation of digital content economies. Both governments recognized both the commercial potential and the employment possibilities associated with the digital content industry. The sector, however, did not fit easily with existing industrial and technological models of economic development, particularly due to the small size of digital firms, the youth culture orientation of most products and services, and the antiestablishment ethos of the creative industries generally. In Japan, digital content firms created a robust domestic market but struggled to get international market share. Government policy, therefore, has focused on building international interest in digital products. Although South Korea has enjoyed considerable success through their K‐pop cultural exports, it has really capitalized on the country's highly successful online gaming industry. South Korean policy initiatives emphasize public promotion of Korean digital content with sizeable investments in creator and incubator spaces for start‐up firms. Together with initiatives in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, the Japanese and South Korean efforts demonstrate how Asian countries have sought to integrate the digital content sector into their national innovation strategies and to jump‐start a promising and potentially valuable economic sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Digital content production - the production of ideas, words, images, videos, animation or other commercially valuable information for distribution through digital means - has emerged in recent years as a major economic sector. The content industry, however, does not fit easily with either national industrial policies or national innovation strategies, the two means governments use to promote economic development. Content policy is often equated with cultural production and so is aligned with heritage and culture programmes. This article examines the strategies of course jurisdictions - Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Hong Kong - and reviews their efforts to build the digital content economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the author reflects on the engagement of Japan with the North American Arctic. Topics discussed include opening of the Arctic Ocean for navigation, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and connection of Japanese for mineral development of the Arctic. Other topics include attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941 and oil pipeline built for Americans by Norman Wells, Northwest Territories.

When the 2008–2009 economic crisis hit, countries that had long dominated the International Monetary Fund (IMF) found themselves both the source of the financial problem and unable to provide financial assistance to major global governance organisations. With only US $200 billion available to assist a list of ailing countries, the International Monetary Fund found itself in difficulty. To the surprise of many observers, Japan made a bold commitment to lend $100 billion to the IMF. The Japanese loan encouraged other countries to contribute and greatly stabilised the world’s economic situation. This paper explains why Japan provided the IMF with $100 billion in financing, despite both Japan’s once tumultuous relationship with the IMF and its previous demands for enhanced political power at the IMF as a condition of providing financing. This article finds that Japanese officials wanted to demonstrate global responsibility and saw Japan’s financial contributions as having low domestic political costs, and that Japan wanted to launder its preferences for debtor reforms through the IMF. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Japan has been a key player in the global competition based on scientific and technological innovation. Through a series of Science and Technology Basic Plans, the national government sought to restructure the country's approach to scientific and technological development, with initiatives ranging from a fundamental restructuring of public universities to major investments in regional clusters. Collaboration with business has likewise been a centerpiece of the Japan strategy, as has high level political leadership of the broad initiative. This paper examines the international and national context of Japanese innovation, outlines the core elements of the Japanese innovation strategy, and provides preliminary observations about the first decade of the country's extensive efforts to establish Japan as a global leader in the commercialization of science and technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]