Japan’s public diplomacy hovers between the ludicrous and the sinister. In recent months, the country has specialised in foreign policy gaffes that seem designed to give maximum offence to its Asian neighbours while causing maximum embarrassment to its western allies. Last week provided another example.

In recent years a considerable amount of policy energy has been focused on ensuring the vitality and relevance of the U.S.-Japan security alliance. Now, with Japan’s entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks (TTP), attention has refocused on the economic aspect. Somewhat less consideration has been paid to the fundamental foundation of the relationship: people-to-people exchange. Total human flow from Japan to the U.S. has declined significantly over the last 15 years, and while the numbers of U.S. arrivals to Japan have grown, they remain low.

After having served for three-and-a-half years as the US Ambassador to the Asian Development Bank under presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush, I finally made my first trip to Myanmar last April, to Mandalay, as a private citizen. In early July I returned, landing in Yangon two days before US Independence Day.

The Republic of China on Taiwan continues to strengthen its partnership with St. Kitts and Nevis in many areas, but a key area of focus for both countries is education, which is the basic pillar of growth and development in any society. With the introduction of a student exchange Programme between both countries, the importance of the role that education plays in development is underscored.

The United States on Friday slammed a ban on foreign radio broadcasts by the Cambodian government in the run-up to next month's elections as a "serious infringement" on press freedom. The Cambodian information ministry had published a directive banning broadcasts of foreign-produced radio programs for 31 days before the July 28 vote, State Department deputy spokesman Patrick Ventrell said.

The overall measure of Australians' "warmth" towards China is captured in the Lowy Institute's "thermometer," a gauge measuring how positively people feel towards a range of countries. Last year China was ranked eighth with a warmth of 59 degrees out of a possible 100, just under Malaysia and just above India.

Middlepowerism is a difficult concept...The term can also denote states that demonstrate strong diplomatic aptitude through activities like diplomatic activism, coalition building, niche diplomacy, and “good international citizenship.” But for policymakers and diplomatic practitioners, middlepowerism is something very different.

China has used various forms of soft power as a form of diplomatic currency in the past. There was the ping pong diplomacy of the early 1970s. There was also panda diplomacy. Now China is expanding its soft power diplomacy to luxury vehicles. According to the Wall Street Journal, last Friday, Beijing donated 20 Chinese-designed and manufactured Hongqi, or Red Flag, vehicles to the Pacific island nation of Fiji. The fleet of sedans is estimated to have cost around $2.3 million.