At the centre of resistance is a tent outside the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, a reclaiming of public space that has been defying official warnings, police threat, attacks from rightists and the weather for well over a year. It’s quite a sight in Tokyo, where busking, political leafleting or postering are almost impossible.

For leftists in this region, there’s good reason to pay closer attention to what’s happening in Japan.

We don’t know yet how serious the nuclear crisis in Japan will be. With luck, the leaks will be contained soon. God knows, the Japanese people have suffered enough. But what’s happened so far highlights the fundamental problem with nuclear energy. The case against atomic power is – and has always been – very straightforward. […]

Black clouds burst from the sky and rain hammered down on Darwin all that morning. The trees were luminescent and the cool of the rain had washed away the hot night. By late morning the clouds and rain had been sucked back into higher altitudes to be replaced by stifling heat and blazing sun. I […]