Cable - The College of St. Scholastica

6
Chi n a be a T s Ja P a n as se C o n d
lar g e s T eC o n o m y 2010
Zaynab Alwan
TheCable Photo Editor
Cu lT u r e
Japan recently lost its 42 year ranking as the second largest economy in the world after
Japan released their data from its cabinet office on February 14. The data claims that this is due
to deflation, soft domestic demand and pressures by the industrialised world’s biggest debt. “It
is difficult for the deflation-plagued Japanese economy to achieve self-sustained growth,” said
Naoki Murakami, chief economist at Monex Securities. China is in second place, following The
United States as first, thanks to a now stronger yen. Although China has victoriously beat Japan,
Japan remains around 10 times richer on a per-capita basis, according to the International
Monetary Fund.
Many, including the World Bank, Goldman Sachs and others, estimate that China will
overtake the United States by 2025 for first place. “China is already at the forefront of the global
economy as the largest trader of goods internationally,” said Duncan Innes-Ker, a Beijing-based
analyst at the Economic Intelligence Unit. China is driving the global economy, while Japan
deals with deflation, an ageing population, and a huge public debt.
Although the economy may look bleak for Japan, there is great hope that change will come
about soon. Kono, chief economist at BNP Paribas in Tokyo claims that “the economy seems
to be recovering again, so the negative growth need not become the basis for pessimism about
Japan’s cyclical outlook.’’ Keeping a positive disposition, Japan’s government feels they could
reap the benefits of its huge neighbor China, the world’s number-one export market, to help
boost their economy.
Cultural Tidbit
Photo Credit: Al-Jazeera
A landmark decision by a court of law establishes a new interpretation of existing law or establishes
a new legal principle. One such decision made by the U.S. Supreme Court was in Brown
v. Board of Education, handed down on May 17, 1954. The ruling stated that “separate educational
facilities are inherently unequal.” This decision overturned the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson
ruling, which had upheld the principle of “separate but equal”. The Brown v. Board of Education
ruling did not require the desegregation of restaurants, restrooms or other public areas.
Thr o u g h
Zaynab Alwan
TheCable Photo Editor
Vo l u m e 58
issue 14
my a n m a r un d e r g o e s PoliTiCal
Cha n g e
Com m u n i T y
arT
Photo Credit: Zaynab Alwan
Recently released from house arrest (thanks to the pressure demanding her freedom
by human rights organizations such as Amnesty International) Aung San Suu Kyi, leader
of the Suu Kyi pro-democracy party, has called to Western countries to keep the sanctions
on Myanmar because the embargo hurts the military more than the civilians.
Many analysts have said that sanctions fail to bring about any reforms and simply
pushed the Myanmar generals and their business allies closer to neighbours China and
Thailand, which are investing heavily in the country’s vast energy reserves. Suu Kyi claims
that the embargo keeps the generals from purchasing more weapon technology for its
large military.
The sanctions on Myanmar include a range from bans on arms deals and new
investments in the country to travel restrictions on regime officials and the freezing of
offshore bank accounts. These specialized analysts claim that the embargo is damaging to
the economy and hurting the Burmese people.
Although Suu Kyi claims that sanctions might actually be hampering the military
efforts to expand, this may be an isolated case. The world has witnessed sanctions truly
oppressing civilians more than the government in numerous cases, to the point where
innocent people die of easily curable illnesses, malnutrition, etc.., as well as a drastic
decrease in the standard of living in said countries. Investigation is necessary to fully
understand how the embargo impacts the civilians and if it actually is valid.