Willy Jou

Oct 3, 2024 | bangladeshpost.net | Willy Jou

On 27 September, Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) chose Shigeru Ishiba as its new leader from an unprecedentedly large field of nine contenders. He succeeded Fumio Kishida as prime minister on 1 October, and has called an election for 27 October. After suffering defeats in four previous party leadership elections, how did Ishiba win this time?

Oct 3, 2024 | eastasiaforum.org | Willy Jou

On 27 September, Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) chose Shigeru Ishiba as its new leader from an unprecedentedly large field of nine contenders. He succeeded Fumio Kishida as prime minister on 1 October, and has called an election for 27 October. After suffering defeats in four previous party leadership elections, how did Ishiba win this time?

Jul 1, 2024 | eastasiaforum.org | Willy Jou |Nurhadi Hafman |James Wu |Dennis LC Weng

Newly elected Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has not had the luxury of a honeymoon. Even before his inauguration on 20 May 2024, controversy erupted over proposed parliamentary reform legislation, leading to scuffles inside the Legislative Yuan (Taiwan’s unicameral parliament) and protests outside of it. This clash illustrates Taiwan’s deep political polarisation and portends executive–legislative deadlock in the years ahead.

May 12, 2024 | eastasiaforum.org | Michael Barr |Enze Han |Willy Jou |Amit Ranjan

For a geographically tiny country with a special combination of political, economic and social features, Singapore has done well to be seen from time to time as the voice of its region. Singaporean leaders certainly have no monopoly on such regional leadership, as Anwar Ibrahim’s speech in March demonstrates.

May 12, 2024 | eastasiaforum.org | Michael Barr |Enze Han |Willy Jou |Amit Ranjan

On 15 April 2024, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong gave a month’s notice that he was stepping down after 20 years in the job and that Lawrence Wong — his 51-year-old deputy — would succeed him. The official announcement was remarkably prosaic, reading and feeling more like the notification of a high-level personnel change in the civil service or a large corporation than the arrival of a new prime minister.