• First, visit Hamilton Library's Asia reference page.

• Then use the Asian Studies WWW VL Search Engines.

• A project of the Nordic NIAS Council, AsiaPortal "is a gateway to information on modern Asia.....The portal gives free (and membership based) access to a large amount of resources on Asia — searchable according to geographical areas and subjects."

• The Portal to Asian Internet Resources is a service of the University of Wisconsin Library.

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• The Asia Pacific Journal no longer exclusively reports on developments in Japan.

• Developed by the Asia Society, Asia Source digests international news stories, providing an array of bibliographies.

• And from The Asia Foundation, In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia provides regular short reports on developments in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong S.A.R, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam. Internal links include URLs for archives and for country experts.

• The Bibliography of Asian Studies includes citations to articles and reports on 32 Asian countries. If you are not a University of Hawai‘i student, staff person or faculty member, try accessing this resource through the website of the library at your institution.

• For direct delivery to your e-mail box, the downloadable asian-studies toolbar has the following features:

• a links directory of web pages.
• a stack of rss feeds for Asian newspapers.
• a second rss stack for blogs on the Asian Studies topics.
• a radio player with internet radio and podcasts together with the usual the usual Conduit toolbar features, including multi-email notifier (very useful), local weather, and multiple search options.
• All Conduit toolbars can be further customized by using a drop down menu.

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• Do you need basic political, demographic and geographic data for countries in Asia? Detailed World Factbook country files from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency are usually up-to-date.

• The Library of Congress Country Studies' country profiles for many countries in Asia are brief but useful for some purposes.

• The basic law of official governments in Asia and elsewhere is usually called a "constitution." Access constitutions of countries in Asia.

• Visit The Asian Law Centre, a project of Kyushu University Graduate School of Law.

• Consult APSA-CD. This is the Newsletter of the American Political Science Association Organized Section in Comparative Politics. Back issues from 1990 onwards are archived online.

• Foreign Policy in the Asia-Pacific Region is a database of news articles and government documents.

• Asia-Pacific News.Net is updated every 15 minutes with an array of newsfeeds and newslinks.

• Visit The Asia-Pacific Journal for a rich collection of more than 1,200 articles.

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• Check out the Gendering Asia Network.

• Asia Monitor Resource Centre was founded in Hong Kong in 1976" as "an independent non-governmental organisation (NGO) which focuses on Asian labour concerns."

• The Asian Business and Economic Research Unit of Monash University is a wide-ranging and in-depth resource.

• The Asian Centre for Human Rights "has special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council."

• The Christian Conference of Asia is managed by Payap University, Chiang Mai, Thailand. As of 16 June 2008, site contents included the following:

About CCA (Introduction, History, Structure, Council, Churches, Staff); CCA News; Press Releases; Resources (Songs from Sound the Bamboo, Liturgical Resources, CCA Publications, Feature Papers, Conference Papers, CTC Bulletin, CCA News Archives); General Assembly; Program Schedule; Program Reports; Program Clusters (Faith, Mission & Unity, Ecumenical Formation, Gender Justice & Youth Formation, Justice, International Affairs, Development & Service); Special Concerns (CCA-UNESCAP, Mekong Partnership, HIV/AIDS Concern, Ecumenical Theological Education, Congress of Asian Theologians, Decade to Overcome Violence (Sri Lanka, Philippines).

• The Hong Kong-based daily Asia Times Online may be read in English or Chinese.

• Use 200 Worldmapper thematic maps to compare Asian countries in many different ways.

• The Centre for the Study of Christianity in Asia provides examples of the diffusion of religious ideas and practices.

• Although the International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World (ISIM) closed on 1 January 2009, archival copies of ISIM web pages (2000-2008) are available.

• Below, country sections of this web page will link you to additional Islam-related websites.

• The South China Sea WWW Virtual Library is an "online resource for students, scholars and policy-makers interested in South China Sea regional development, environment, and security issues."

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• The Voice of America publishes current Asian and other news from a viewpoint consistent with U.S Government objectives.

• To locate an Asian studies specialist, do a Quick Search on Access Asia's Specialist Database. Sponsored by The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR), it also links you to 300 governmental, corporate and academic policy research institutes. Another NBR program is Strategic Asia which describes itself as a "source of information and analysis for the policymaking community, media, the business sector, and academe."

• The purpose of the AEMS Database "is to promote understanding of Asian cultures and peoples and to assist educators at all levels, from elementary schools to colleges and universities, in finding resources for learning and teaching about Asia."

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• In addition to China and Japan, what other governments in Asia have ranked among the top 15 military spenders in the world since the late 1980s? Depending on whether military expenditures are measured in market exchange rate or purchasing power parity dollar terms, country rankings vary from year to year.

• Asia Watch is now part of Human Rights Watch.

• Unlike research paid for by government-oriented think tanks, the Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars (now Critical Asian Studies) was initiated to offset academic-military collusion. After clicking that link, scroll down to click on the link for "BACK ISSUES -- Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars."

• ResearchSEA - Asia Research News brings you reports on science, technology, medicine, business, culture, people, and the latest news.

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• For summaries of twentieth-century Asian nationalist and communist social movements, see also Asian nationalisms, social revolutions by Vincent K. Pollard.

• Beginning in 2003, the Asia Research Institute (National University of Singapore) has published an Electronic Working Paper Series on a variety of topics in politics, economics, social and international history, sociology, geography, public health, globalization, migration, media, and public policy. Full texts are downloadable.

• Dating back to 1993, reports, book reviews, discussion and debate in H-Asia (Asian history and culture) and H-DIPLO (diplomatic history) are archived and searchable.

• Asia-Studies Full-text online is "the exclusive licensee for many of the region's most exclusive research institutions" from 53 countries.

• See Professor Lynn T. Whyte's clickable list of websites for "China and Southeast Asia Researchers" giving access to thousands of articles.

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• CNN World News may be read in Korean, Japanese and English.

• Nikkei Net Interactive provides comprehensive Asian business news.

• The Nautilus Institute (San Francisco and Melbourne) publishes research on Northeast Asia peace and security issues. This site includes reports from Fudan University's American Studies Institute and its jointly convened Shanghai collaborative research and dialogue workshops on East Asian Regional Security Futures.

• For coverage of Russia in Asia and other Russian news, RT or TV-Novosti is a 24/7 television project of the Autonomous Nonprofit Organization.

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• The Korea Herald reports on current events affecting the two Koreas.

• Also, to retrieve earlier reports on Korea-focused events from 1999 onwards, search digital archives for The Korea Herald.

• In 2006, the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI) initiated an Academic Paper Series. This is "followed by a public discussion of topical issues related to the Korean Peninsula."

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• Compare coverage of North Korean affairs in DPRK - North Korea, a New Zealand website, with current and archived reports from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (in English and Korean).

• See photographs and videos taken in North Korea by Jeffrey Allan Tripp (University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa) during 20-25 September 2008.

• The North Korea International Documentation Project (NKIDP) "serves as an informational clearinghouse on North Korea for both the scholarly and policymaking communities by widely disseminating newly declassified documents on the DPRK from its former communist allies as well as other resources that provide valuable insight into the actions and nature of the North Korean state."

• Listen to Korean Pop Music.

• Or read Korea Google News (in Korean).

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Source: Center for Japanese Studies,
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

• Hamilton Library offers specialized Japan resources.

• Try Japan Politics Information Central for basics, bibliography and other links.

• The Mainichi Daily News search engine may or may not retrieve articles from as long ago as August 2000.

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• The Asahi Shimbun reports on Japanese politics. So, too, does The Japan Times Online. Web editions of both newspapers — in Japanese and English editions — are archived back to 1999.

• Another 100 Japanese newspapers are online in Japanese and English.

• Japan Google News (in Japanese).

• For photographs, search the Mainichi Photo Bank (in Japanese).

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• The Prime Minister's bilingual website takes you to government ministries. Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes news bulletins.

• And visit the National Diet Library for documents from Japan's bicameral legislature.

• NewsOnJapan collects news reports on Japanese society and politics (in English) from a variety of Japanese news sources.

• Search archived Japanese Law Links (1998-2005). This project was formerly maintained by Kyushu University Graduate School of Law.

• Visit the Japanese Post-War Politics website (in Japanese).

• Try Japan's Statistics Bureau.

• Professor Robert C. Angel's Japan Considered Project provides links to Japan Government "meta-sites," as well as to podcasts and interviews on Japanese politics.

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• Rooted in earlier Japanese women's social movement organizations including Ajia Onnatachi no Kai ("Asian Women's Association"), the Asia-Japan Women's Resource Center (AJWRC) "is a feminist organization working to end all forms of violence and discrimination against women, promote human rights and social justice, and explore alternative politics and empowerment of women." The AJWRC was fonded as an NGO in 1994 by the late Yayori Matsui (in Japanese and English).

• Use the index to 2,600 political posters curated by the Ohara Institute for Social Research. This collection predates the end of World War II in 1945.

• And view a slide show of 1,400 posters from labor and other social movements in post-1945 Japan.

• And visit the Takazawa collection of leaflets, journals, photographs and other ephemera from the Japanese Left and other social movements.

• Japanese Student Movement Printed Materials, 1959-2003. Most of these civil society organization leaflets and other documents were produced during 1960-1979. Although this valuable collection apparently has not yet been digitized, consult the detailed online finding aids on this Duke University website.

• Defend the Japan Peace Constitution is organized by the League of Japanese Citizens in the U.S. The purpose is to defend Article 9 of Japan's Constitution from militarist amendments. This website is in Japanese and English.

• Ainu Rebels is the website of "a group of young Ainu in the Tokyo area, formed in Summer of 2006." In an earlier version of this website, they wrote, "We are doing our best to 'have fun' and 'be cool' while spreading Ainu culture throughout the world!! We chose the name 'REBELS' with the hope of creating change — to transform our society into one where Ainu people can be proud to be Ainu."

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• Edited by the monthly journal Sekai and the Peace Research Institute of International Christian University, Japan in the World criticizes Japanese politics, economy, society and culture.

• Since the mid-1990s, Social Science Japan Forum has featured expert discussion all aspects of Japanese politics. And for earlier discussion logs, access its SSJ-Forum Archive.

• In April 2007, The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies began publishing AJISS-Commentary to disseminate "Japanese views on international relations."

• Ed-Eyes on the Web is linked to Japanese-language news on education, human rights, the environment, international understanding, gender and community during 2000 - 2006.

• Despite losing support from the U.S. Congress, the Japan Documentation Center (1992-2000) maintains a searchable database for accessing materials in commerce and industry, law, politics, environment and sociology.

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• Many of the Japan links on the "Asia, comparatively" web page (above) include content relevant to Okinawa.

• Consult Gregory Smits' Ryukyuan and Okinawan History website.

• How many foreign (U.S.) military bases can you locate on this map of Okinawa? (Not all of them are indicated on it!)

• The Okinawa Convention and Visitors Bureau also publishes information on history, culture and tours.

• Two Japanese-language newspapers published in Okinawa are the Okinawa Times and The Ryukyu Shimpo.

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• Present-day Okinawa-ken is the southernmost prefecture of Japan.

• Even larger than Okinawa Prefecture, historical Okinawa was the semi-independent Ryukyuan Kingdom for more than five centuries. It paid tribute to China and, secretly, to Japan. The Kingdom extended north into the area occupied by present-day Kagoshima-ken until the nineteenth century. Download a summary of "Recent Trends in Scholarship on the History of Ryukyu" (Gregory Smits, symposium, Bonn University, revised, 2006)

• However, the Satsuma Clan pressed southward, defeated the weakened Kingdom in 1609, and steadily brought it under its suzerainty. In 1879, Okinawa was forced to become a prefecture directly administered by Meiji Japan, although Okinawa's power began weakening many years earlier.

• An instructive controversy has emerged over exactly how pacifist the government of the Ryukyuan Kingdom was.

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• In any case, Okinawans did not invite World War II into their beautiful islands.

• As a result of Japanese militarists' appetite for conquest and because of Japan's inability to defend Okinawa against American bombardment and invasion, Okinawans suffered disproportionately. Along with U.S. and Japanese military casualties in the 1944-1945 Battle of Okinawa, one third of all Okinawan civilians were killed.

• While Japan was under U.S. military administration for for about six and a half years (1945-1952), Okinawa's pathway diverged.

• On 15 May 1972, Okinawa's administrative "Reversion" to Japan began. The incomplete "Reversion" extended the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty to Okinawa, and the U.S. military stayed on. In March 2001, the U.S. military footprint still pressed deeply on Okinawa.

• Militant protests by the subnational and transnational Movement to Demilitarize Okinawa since 1995 have confronted Presidents Clinton (1993-2001), Bush (2001-2009), and Obama (2009 - ) and Prime Ministers Murayama, Hashimoto (1996 - 1998), Obuchi (1998 - 2000), Mori (2000 - 2001), Koizumi (2001 - 2007), Abe (2006 - 2007), Fukuda (2007 - 2008), Aso (2008 - 2009), and Hatoyama (2009 - ) with human rights violations and environmental damage caused by the military occupation of Okinawa.

• Created in 1995, The Contemporary Okinawa Website is regularly updated.

• The Futenma-Henoko Action Network intends to bring the wishes and demands of Okinawans to the attention of Japanese and U.S. politicians.

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• The Okinawa Environmental Network is based in Naha, Okinawa.

• Centered in San Francisco with support from Okinawans in Okinawa, the Okinawan diaspora and others, the Okinawa Peace Fighters organization exemplifies the transnational reach of the Movement to Demilitarize Okinawa (archived websites, 2005-2008).

• In an otherwise useful website needing an update, environmental damage to Okinawa from U.S. military bases and Japanese public works projects is assessed.

• Login or register at the Kyushu and Okinawa Studies discussion forum.

• The largest concentration of Uchinanchu outside Okinawa is in Hawai‘i. Visit the Hawaii United Okinawa Association.

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• Search India and other South Asia-focused links to topics in history, culture, religion, literature, government, business and education.

• Savifa is a virtual library portal for South Asia (in German). "Savifa has been built up by the Library of the South Asia Institute in Heidelberg in cooperation with Heidelberg University Library and has been funded by the German Research Council."

• With 2,000 photo pages, Harappa:The Ancient Indus Valley and the British Raj in India and Pakistan will introduce you to "the story of ancient Indus Valley and glimpses of India and Pakistan before 1947 during the Raj."

• With an estimated 1,147,995,904 people (CIA estimate, July 2008), India's rapidly growing population may exceed China's before 2020. Search Google India News for additional information.

• The National Portal of India is maintained by The National Informatics Centre of India.

• The India Water Portal " is a knowledge and social portal for exchanging knowledge, experiences and ideas on the water situation in India."

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• Caste in South Asia: A Gateway to Internet Resources is a wonderful resource prepared by the Center for South Asian Studies of the University of Hawai‘i - Mānoa.

• The 2nd-, 3rd- and 4th-largest Muslim populations in the world live in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, respectively. For international Muslim news, Muslimedia International and archives from Crescent International.

• The South Asian Bureau of Economic Research (or SABER) is "is a portal for research on South Asian Economics." Topics of SABER's online research papers include macroeconomics, microeconomics, trade, labor, development, finance, governance, energy, and conferences.

• Harvard University's Project on Islam in Eurasia primarily focuses on "Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Muslim regions of Russia." This project began in 2008.

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• The Nepal Studies Center at The University of New Mexico "provide[s] a platform to bring together scholars from North America and the countries in the Himalayan region and elsewhere to share knowledge on policy research issues affecting the Himalayan region and the countries in South Asia." Housed at the University of New Mexico, "the Center takes a broader focus with an interest on development, health, natural resources, sustainability, empowerment, conflict and the environment." Also, you may download from the Center's Himalayan Research Papers Archive.

• The primary goal of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies "is the study of Hindu culture, religion, languages, literature, philosophy, history, arts, and society, in all periods and in all parts of the world. All Hindu traditions are included."

• A project of the Centre for the Study of Geopolitics at Panjab University, the Indian Ocean Research Group provides an "umbrella for social science policy-oriented research in the Indian Ocean Rim."

• The pro-government South Asia Terrorism Portal provides daily and weekly briefings with national and subnational and national backgrounders, assessments, documents and data sheets from the South Asia Intelligence Review.

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• Founded in Afghanistan, since 1977 the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) has opposed Russian invaders, the former Taliban regime and U.S. President Bush's so-called "Global War on Terror." With words, photos and music, RAWA outlines a broader vision of a liberated future for their sisters. If you are blocked from accessing RAWA's website, try its mirror site.

• Also, read "The Long, Long Struggle for Women's Rights in Afghanistan," by Scott Levi, in Current Events in Historical Perspective, vol. 2, issue 12 (September 2009)

• Following a U.S.-led invasion in 2001, Hamid Karzai was installed as Chairman of the Interim Administration of Afghanistan. Today Karzai is President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. By December 2008 as the next presidential election approached, Karzai's government controlled a small amount of territory outside Kabul, the ostensible capital city.

• Another presidential election was held in August 2009.

• See Frontline's Return of the Taliban (PBS).

• The e-paper Daily Outlook Afghanistan is published by the Afghanistan Group of Newspapers and edited by Dr. Hussain Yasa.

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• Dawn (Karachi, Pakistan) is a widely circulated and informative newspaper with mildly critical perspective on South/Central Asia news. Dawn maintains a four-week archive.

• Also, The Friday Times (Lahore, Pakistan) provides paid subscribers with weekly alternatives to government-friendly news commonly published in other newspapers. Those unable to afford a paid subscription may fill out a form to request free access to The Friday Times website.

• Yet another newspaper published in Pakistan is the Post.

• Explore four spatial views of western Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt in interactive map from the Council on Foreign Relations.

• A National Survey on Student Politics, 2008 has been issued by BARGAD, "a national youth forum to promote peace, justice and cooperation among literate youth in Pakistan."

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• Taiwan Google News (in Chinese).

• The Taiwan Culture Research Programme enables "an inter-disciplinary approach to the study of Taiwan and a comparative approach to the study of Taiwan in its Asian and global contexts."

• Retrace the long-distance voyage of the Princess Taiping Expedition from Fujian Province, China, to California, Hawai‘i and then back to Taiwan in 2008-2009! Using Ming Dynasty shipbuilding specifications, the Chinese Maritime Development Society (Taipei, Taiwan) constructed the "Princess Taiping" — a replica of a Chinese ocean-going sailing junk — in Fujian Province before sailing it across the Pacific Ocean to Taiwan.

• The Taiwan Cross-Strait Directory presents six distinctive, overlapping and competing perspectives on Taiwan-focused issues. Edited by Vincent Pollard since 2001 with assistance from scholars on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, this Directory is a part of the Asia-Pacific Digital Library (Kapi‘olani Community College — University of Hawai‘i System).

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Last modified, 26 October 2009.

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