Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
The Daily Gazette
Swarthmore College
Tuesday, February 18, 1997
Volume 1, Number 19
NEWS IN BRIEF
1) Junji Shimada ’88 gives lecture on foreign policy
2) World news roundup
SPORTS IN BRIEF
1) Schall named to men’s basketball Weekly Honor Roll
2) Tonight’s and tomorrow’s contests
NEWS REPORT
1) Junji Shimada ’88 gives lecture on foreign policy
Junji Shimada, the First Secretary of the Japanese embassy in Washington
DC and an alumnus of Swarthmore, gave a talk concerning Japanese foreign
policy yesterday.
Shimada’s lecture, sponsored by the Pacific Rim Organization, centered
around three main issues: Japan’s policy and actions concerning North
Korea, Japanese-US security relations and the future of security in Asia.
North Korea and the problems it poses received the heaviest emphasis in
the lecture, specifically North Korea’s nuclear capacity, submarine
intrusions into South Korean waters and the defection of a ranking North
Korean official. As one of the first people to know of Kim Il Sung’s
death in 1994, Shimada has been in the forefront of Japanese-North Korean
relations. He was the individual who first notified the Japanese Prime
Minister’s office of the event.
He has participated in talks with North Korean officials, and while
acknowledging their intelligence, he repeatedly made reference to their
“brinkmanship tactics,” which slowed progress and protracted talks that
Shimada’s superiors expected to take 10 days to nearly 10 months.
Shimada also testified to the poor conditions in North Korea, noting the
shortening of the training period for Korean troops and the general
malnutrition of the population. Last year, says Shimada, both the US and
Japan sent economic aid to North Korea, though Japan did not renew the
aid package this years as the US did.
Shimada sees the economy as the root of North Korea’s problems and the
economy must be changed before anything will get better. Yet because of
the tight connection between North Korea’s government and economy, this
change may well be impossible, according to Shimada. He predicts that
North Korea’s economy will not last more than five to ten years in its
present form. He also adds that even “beyond five years” the economy will
be “difficult to sustain.”
The lecture ended with Shimada’s discussion of the role of United States
involvement in Asia. He says that the Japanese government “supports US
presence and US commitment to the region.”
Arati Davis ’00 says of Shimada, “He mixed factual information with
personal anecdotes and made what could have potentially been a dry speech
into an interesting and informative talk.”
While at Swarthmore, Junji Shimada was an economics major.
*****
2) World news roundup
CHINESE LEADER REPORTEDLY IN CRITICAL CONDITION
Chinese Communist Party chairman Deng Xiaoping is in critical condition
after suffering a brain hemorrhage this weekend, a Hong Kong newspaper
reported. White House spokeswoman Mary Ellen Glynn said Washington had
received no official word from the Chinese government, but the Associated
Press quoted anonymous administration sources as confirming that other
Chinese leaders had abruptly cut off provincial visits to return to the
capitol.
SEX SCANDALS MAKE ARMY A HARD SELL
For the first time in over 25 years, the U.S. Army may fail to meet its
quarterly recruitment goal. Recruiters report their jobs are becoming
increasingly more difficult, in no small part due to the recent string of
Army sex scandals. The recruit pool is also shrinking because the strong
economy offers many alternatives to military service. Army officials
project a deficit of up to 16,000 recruits.
The world news roundup is produced by Swarthmore Radio News, which airs
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and midnight on WSRN 91.5
FM.
SPORTS IN BRIEF
1) Schall named to men’s basketball Weekly Honor Roll
2) Tonight’s and tomorrow’s contests
SPORTS UPDATE
ADDITIONS
In addition to the winners on the women’s track and field team from
Saturday’s six-way track meet, Danielle Wall ’98 won the 1500m run in
5:07.94, a time equalling her personal best from outdoor track.
*****
1) Schall named to men’s basketball Weekly Honor Roll
Ben Schall ’97 averaged 16.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.0
steals in the Garnet’s 1-1 week. He hit two free throws with :03 left on
the clock to pull out a 64-63 win against Dickinson. Schall also had a
double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds to go along with five
assists and three steals in Swarthmore’s loss to Washington.
*****
2) Tonight’s and tomorrow’s contests
TONIGHT
Women’s basketball takes on Muhlenburg in Tarble Pavilion at 7:30.
WEDNESDAY (19 Feb.)
Men’s hoops travel to Mulhenburg for a 8 p.m. game. Badminton travels to
Harcum Junior College; matches begin at 4 p.m.
*****
The Daily Gazette
Board of Editors
Fred Bush
Kate Doty
Jennifer Klein
David Lischer
Eric Pakurar
Sam Schulhofer-Wohl
Sylvia Weedman
Contributing Writer
Nick Attanasio
The Daily Gazette is published Monday through Friday by an independent
group of Swarthmore College students. Technical support from the
Swarthmore College Computer Society is gratefully acknowledged.
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This concludes today’s report.
Copyright 1997 by The Daily Gazette. All rights reserved.