Last week, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling right-wing-conservative coalition won a majority of seats in Japan’s upper house election last Sunday. Depressing? Yes. Bad for Japan (and the world)? Yes. But elections are not just black-and-white, winner-takes-it-all events. We can give in to feelings of defeat, or we can shift our attention to all the good that came out of this election.
The Thai political crisis, which has resurfaced since the coup of May 22, 2014, has been closely monitored by the international community. The military overthrew the elected government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and has since claimed to undertake political reforms. But up to this point, there have been no concrete reforms, nor any prospect of a fresh election. Thailand may have to live with military rule for some time.
Twenty-three pan-democratic lawmakers described the lengthy document submitted to Beijing as a chronology of events that lacks a solution to the political stalemate in Hong Kong.
![[Sign petition on White House Website] – Stop landfill work in Okinawa until a referendum can be held!](http://www.asiaprogressive.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Okinawa-landfill-henoko-90x75.jpg)
