Elizabeth Dilts Marshall

Japan sees regional U.S. governors as one of its strongest allies and supporters, based on years of investment and community building. As hints of isolationism and protectionism appear in Washington, Japan seeks to strengthen relations with the governors to ride the political storm of the 2024 election season. Retired Amb. Ryozo Kato wrote in Nikkei that "America's strength lies not only in the federal state but in each local state." He noted that California's gross domestic product was comparable to that of India's, which would make it the world's fifth-largest economy; that Texas was comparable to Russia; and that New York's economy was roughly the size of Italy's. "Japan is at once, the biggest source of foreign direct investment in the U.S., as well as one of the rare countries that has FDI spread across each and every state," Kato wrote. Unlike trade, FDI creates local jobs and is a longtime commitment. Subnational diplomacy can govern the alliance, he argued.

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NEW: Our latest visual story explores five key battlegrounds that could decide a US-China conflict over Taiwan. Three decades of investment means China’s military is now close to being able to fight a Taiwan war. In response, the US is devising new warfighting strategies and strengthening military alliances. Few analysts or officials believe a conflict is imminent, but any clash between the world’s top two powers would have global consequences, triggering the biggest international crisis since the second world war. Read the piece here: https://lnkd.in/e-M2jYwZ

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New pub: Myths of Origins: Literary and Cultural Patterns Myths of Origins explores the timeless power of origin myths in literature, spanning from ancient texts to contemporary works. This collection of essays delves into the six foundational models of beginnings in Western literature, examining how these frameworks shape narratives across eras. https://lnkd.in/eXDG9Cgu

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📢 Robert Dohner, Senior Fellow at the Altantic Council emphasizes: As important as the shift in U.S. policy towards China since the first Trump administration is the retreat of the United States from efforts to shape the global economic and regulatory order – a retreat that will continue in Trump’s second term. In international trade, the United States has abandoned new negotiations and undercut the pillars of the WTO system that it fought to establish after WWII. Inward focus and partisan division have also diminished U.S. influence in other areas, including new technologies and climate. It’s easy to discount the ability of other nations to fill the vacuum left by the United States, particularly when so many current governments are weak. But in many areas there are clear demands for rules and standards, and first-mover advantages to those who can take action. By failing to fill that role, the United States will find it is no longer the indispensable nation. https://lnkd.in/duWnTW7T

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My latest column for #Forbes

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Editing pet peeve: the goofy obsession with the Oxford comma. Oxford enthusiasts—whom I often refer to as "Oxfordnistas"—insist that the serial comma is the ultimate arbiter of clarity and slayer of ambiguity. And they demonstrate this overstated power through a series of reductionist—albeit humorous—memes. Below on the left is one such example. Again, this meme assuredly suggests a moment where a lack of a serial comma may confuse readers. Rather than express a list of the three, the Oxford-less sentence seems to imply an appositive suggesting the exotic dancers are, in fact, Stalin and JFK. But what happens if you change strippers (plural) to stripper (singular). One good contrived strawman argument deserves another, right? On the right is the counterpoint. Here, the sentence with the Oxford comma introduces ambiguity. Is that JFK on stage three collecting singles, or is somebody else? The trick is simple: When in doubt, rewrite. "We invited JFK, Stalin and the strippers." See how this is clearly a list of three? See how I didn't need the comma to do so? Ultimately, the Oxford comma is a stylistic convention, so it is a matter of personal preference. You can also write, "We invited JFK, Stalin, and the strippers." That *also* works. Either way, stop pretending that your prescriptivist take on the Oxford comma is holy writ. #Oxfordcomma

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The lack of any official coordinates for the nine-dash line has been one of the grounds for challenges to its legitimacy, along with its shifting ambiguity across numerous maps produced over the decades. There were 11 dashes to the line when it first appeared on an official map of the South China Sea islands in 1947 that was drawn up by the Republic of China. When the Communist Party established the People’s Republic in 1949, it continued the approach but removed two of the line’s dashes in the Gulf of Tonkin. Beijing and Hanoi reached a boundary delimitation agreement over this body of water in 2000. A Nanjing University study published in 2003 found that the spatial locations of corresponding line sections in the official Chinese maps of 1947 and 1983 did not entirely match. While the term “nine-dash line” – jiu duan xian in Chinese – is widely used outside China for the cartographic marker, it is officially referred to in Beijing as “the dotted line” or duan xu xian. Translations of “nine-dash line” and “dashed line” – “informal” and “randomly scratched”, respectively – could give the impression of being undignified and hasty, and the translation of “dotted line” potentially carried the same flaw, they said. Meanwhile, the official newspaper of the People’s Liberation Army has another term for the marker, according to an article in June – chuan tong hai jiang xian, which means “traditional maritime boundary line”. But that notion has been challenged within China, because Beijing has confirmed it does not claim everything within the line as its territorial waters, while the line itself has never functioned as a national border. Beijing has yet to provide a definitive or detailed explanation of the nine-dash line in any of China’s laws and official documents. On official maps, the line follows the same format as a marker of an undetermined national boundary, rather than the continuous, unbroken depiction of a settled national border, while each segment is drawn using the symbol for a delimited boundary. The Chinese government has not clearly defined its historic rights within the nine-dash line, nor has it officially demarcated different types of maritime zones within the line. Even before the ruling, Chinese scholars called on Beijing to elaborate on its historical rights and secure the nine-dash line’s legal status through domestic legislation. The lack of clarity would put China in an awkward position, they warned. “As the Nansha [Spratly] Islands dispute is still unsettled, any attempt to clarify the dash line or maritime claims would only lead to an escalation of tensions,” they wrote. International Development and Security Cooperation (IDSC) https://lnkd.in/gX9R2kJm

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Time for part 2️⃣ of my book chapter on investigative journalism and AI: this looks at the challenges — from accuracy and bias to resources and explainability. There's some practical stuff here on competing ideas of fairness, overfittings vs underfitting and feature engineering. #ddj #AI

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U.S. State Department to send diplomatic advisers to American cities. Japan's Kishida and China's Xi have similar playbooks when it comes to strengthening ties with the U.S.: to focus on states, cities and towns. They both understand that Biden is looking to conduct “a foreign policy for the middle class,” one that does not ship jobs overseas in the name of globalism but creates jobs and helps working families. This summer, the State Department will begin dispatching its professional staff as international advisers to five U.S. cities. They will serve as liaisons between the municipalities and the State Department. The idea is to connect local leaders with the "tangible benefits of foreign policy," such as foreign direct investment or student exchange opportunities, Ambassador Nina Hachigian, the special representative for city and state diplomacy, told Nikkei Asia in an exclusive interview. It is not a coincidence that both Kishida and Xi have noted the importance of subnational diplomacy in recent weeks.

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New pub: Conrad’s European Context by Andrew Busza. This book explores the extraordinary geographical and historical range of Joseph Conrad’s fictional worlds by examining the influence of the novelist’s literary and cultural background. https://lnkd.in/esuNMScB

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FOR TODAY'S VIDEO: Journalism lessons are figuratively written on the wall and literally written on the whiteboard. Fact-checking, censorship, gatekeeping, bias and other related issues. How can these concepts be best taught? https://lnkd.in/gWjYBBuk

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More protectionism? Bifurcated trade blocks? My first deep dive into the future of US-China trade relations. Check it out

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The Mass Matchmaking(1947) On November 6, 1947, the first large-scale public group matchmaking event (omiai) after World War II was held at the Tama River riverbed in Tokyo. This day is known as Omiai Memorial Day. Due to the war's impact, there was a significant gender population gap, and finding marriage partners became difficult due to bereavement, unemployment, and poverty. As a result, marriage consultation offices began appearing throughout cities. The group matchmaking event was organized by the marriage information magazine "Kibou" (Hope). Entry tickets were attached to the magazine, and participants wore either red or white tags. According to Ango Sakaguchi's novel "Group Matchmaking," for men, a red tag meant they wanted to marry into their bride's family, while a white tag meant they were looking for a bride. For women, a red tag meant they were looking for a groom, while a white tag meant they wanted to marry into their groom's family. This system matched people with the same color tags - what we would now call matching. NHK footage from 1948 shows the event. While the official number of participants in 1947 was just over 300, the footage shows crowds of people lined up. However, Sakaguchi's novel notes that "those are just onlookers" and "most of them are fake journalists." These matchmaking events, among other factors, contributed to the baby boom reaching its peak. The number of births in 1949 reached 2,696,638. https://lnkd.in/gKhm7PpB #OnThisDay #todayinhistory #MatchmakingAnniversary. #babyboom #きょうは何の日 #第1次ベビーブーム #お見合い記念日 #坂口安吾

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In a feature-length production, Will Spaniel, associate professor of political science at the University of Pittsburgh, speculates on the possibility of war over Taiwan in his latest video. https://lnkd.in/ge-7mNUp

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Support our reporting fund In a world where quick soundbites often replace thorough reporting, the importance of independent media cannot be overstated. At TNM, we are committed to delivering not just news, but nuanced narratives that go beneath the surface. This commitment means our journalists spend considerable time on the ground, digging into stories that matter. However, in-depth reporting requires not just passion and dedication, but also substantial resources. Every story we chase involves expenses—travel, equipment, and ensuring the safety and well-being of our reporters as they bring you the truth from across the five south Indian states. This is where you can make a difference. By supporting our reporting fund, you're not just sustaining a media outlet; you're preserving the integrity and independence of journalism itself. Your contribution helps us stay resilient. Link in comment.

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The 2025 Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) Journalism Excellence Awards open Deadline 12 February 2025 Journalists who have published stories in 2024 and are AAJA members can nominate themselves for the awards. The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) is hosting the Journalism Excellence Awards. The awards have two main categories: journalism excellence by medium and by subject. Journalists who produce written reporting, digital reporting, photojournalism, video and audio reporting on various subjects, including investigative reporting, sports reporting, science/environment/health reporting and others, are welcome to submit their work produced in 2024. However, each entered work may only be submitted to one award category. Submissions that display outstanding storytelling, in-depth reporting that moves the industry and cultural understandings forward, and pieces that demonstrate impact are highly encouraged. Special consideration is given to top-notch journalism about the AAPI community, in the U.S. or abroad. Interested nominees must have a current AAJA membership and be committed to AAJA’s mission. They may join the organization prior to submitting their awards application. AAJA is open to all journalists, regardless of ethnic or racial identity. https://lnkd.in/gK6Nyrmv

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