Asia Pacific Memo
Courts Decide On Work Hour Practices At Toyota And McDonald’s In Japan
Memo #4 – Working hours, wages, and health have grabbed headlines with the recent strikes at manufacturing plants in China. The William L. Holland Prize-winning article in Pacific Affairs in 2009 examines working conditions in Japan and the outcome of several recent court cases intended to limit work hours at Toyota and McDonald’s.
Erich Weingartner speaks about the re-launch of the Canada-North Korea news service
Memo #3 – Erich Weingartner, Editor of CanKor, speaks about North Korea and the new version of The CanKor Blog. This Canada-North Korea news service “aims to provide information and analysis that does not get the attention it deserves in the commercial media”.
Is South Korea’s Hyper-Education System The Future?
Memo #2 – A recent workshop at the University of Waterloo concluded that hyper-education will spread globally in the future. Currently, South Korea’s education system seems to be the most extreme. It is increasingly structured around tutoring in “hagwon” (supplemental education institutions). Korea has taken on even more extreme forms of examination “hell” than Japan.
Thai Academics Are As Polarized And Dispirited As Their Nation
Memo #1 – The recent images of the G20 protests in Toronto were disturbing. But they pale in comparison to the scale and implications of the street protests in Bangkok earlier in the summer.