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JAPAN: Recently legislated reforms could substantially alter the shape of
the Japanese government. However, their effectiveness will depend on the
willingness of the political leadership to move to a less consensual form
of government and its ability to reduce the size of the bureaucracy at a
time of high unemployment and low economic growth.SINGAPORE: GDP expanded by 6.7% year-on-year in the second quarter, after growing by a revised 0.6% in January-March, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said. The government has revised its forecast for GDP growth for 1999 from 0-2% to 4-5%. The rise in output is indicative primarily of strong US import demand and an associated upturn in exports of electronics products. With export growth underpinning increased manufacturing activity, rising asset values and falling unemployment point to a recovery in domestic demand. NORTH KOREA: The sixth round of four-way talks involving North and South Korea, the United States and China began yesterday in Geneva. Efforts to engage Pyongyang in dialogue have intensified in an attempt to defuse rising tensions on the peninsula and head off the threat of a further North Korean missile test. Such an event would strengthen hardline opposition in Washington and Seoul and complicate official efforts to develop closer relations with the North. THAILAND: The country's modern constitutional monarchy has been created during King Bhumibol's five-decade reign. While the monarchy traditionally has been regarded as an important pillar of political stability, the prospect of succession is regarded domestically with some trepidation.
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