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Kan Kimura is a doyen in the fields of political science and area studies in Japan. A professor with the Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies in Kobe University, Kimura is author of over a dozen scholarly books on Japanese and Korean history and Japan-Korea relations. The foremost authority on North Korea-South Korea relations, Kimura has written extensively on Asian geopolitics as well. Biswas Baral and Shambhu Kattel of APEX caught up with Kimura during his brief personal trip to Nepal to discuss the wider ramifications of the ongoing US-North Korea dialogue, BRI and Nepal, and Japan’s place in Asia.

What are the broader security implications to Asia of the recent rapprochement between the US and North Korea and prospect of peace in the Korean peninsula?

First of all, it will not be at all easy to make North Korea renounce all its nuclear weapons. Even if the North announces that it has given up all its nukes that will be technically dif­ficult to verify, much more difficult than it was in the case of say Iraq or Libya. Moreover, you have to under­stand that the reason North Korea has nuclear weapons is because of the United States.

Now the Korean peninsula is firm­ly under Chinese influence. I think recent US diplomacy in Korea is a part of its plan to withdraw from the peninsula, as President Donald Trump keeps hinting. Even while he was campaigning for presidency, Trump made it clear that he would withdraw US troops from East Asia and he seems intent on keeping his promise. But whatever Trump says I don’t think there will be a big change in North Korean nuclear arsenal in the near future.

The prospect of the US with­drawal from East Asia is the biggest nightmare for the Japanese people. Of course the Chinese don’t think that way.

But isn’t the presence of Amer­ican troops in the Korean pen­insula also in Chinese inter­est? Because if they withdraw without the North giving up its nuclear weapons then Japan would also be forced to acquire nukes and to enhance its military capabilities. Japanese invasion of China in early 20th century has not been forgotten.

What you are saying would have made perfect sense back in the 2000s. But right now the Chinese GDP has grown twice as big as Japan’s. In the next 10-15 years, the Chinese economy could be four to five times bigger than Japan’s. Now the Chinese policymakers believe that they have absolutely nothing to fear from Japan if Japan is estranged from the United States. For histor­ical reasons, Japan does not have very good relations with countries like South Korea, the Philippines and China. So without the support of the US, it will be isolated. China seems to be succeeding in its strate­gy of ‘divide and rule’ as they have successfully driven a wedge between the US and Japan, and Japan and South Korea. South Korea is now completely dependent on China, as is the rest of South East Asia.

To change track a bit, what does Japan make of China’s Belt and Road Initiative?

What I have been telling the Jap­anese government is that Japan is still the biggest military and economy power in Asia bar Chi­na. So it can still forge meaningful partnerships with other coun­tries in the region. Take the case of the Trans Pacific Partnership, from which the US recently with­drew. Everybody thought that US withdrawal would be the death of the TPP but that is not the case. Other countries in the partnership wanted to keep it alive and you see that the US is again showing some interest in rejoining. Japan should fully support this process. If Japan does not take leadership on this no other Asian power can do so. India cannot do so because it does not have much influence beyond South Asia, not even in Myanmar, its next-door neighbor. India is getting militarily and economically strong and yet it is still by and large an iso­lated power.

There is a fear in Nepal that the Chinese are flexing their eco­nomic muscles to get their way and the BRI is part of the same coercive strategy.

Nepal’s situation is a bit like Mongolia’s, trapped between two big powers. But one of the good things for Nepal is that most of the geopolitical competition between big powers in Asia seems to be happening at the sea, the South China Sea for instance, and away from landlocked coun­tries like Nepal and Mongolia. The other good news for Nepal is that India and China seem to have for now settled their border problems and a big flare-up between them looks unlikely.

So I say you make the best of the good relations between India and China. More than that, Nepal is now maturing as a democracy, which is a big plus, because we cannot say the same about other countries in the region like Bhutan or Bangla­desh or Pakistan. This is a bulwark against the tendency of other big powers to intervene. It also allows other democratic entities like the EU and Japan to contribute to Nepal’s development. They can also then intervene when they believe Nepal’s sovereignty is at risk.

But how does Japan view the BRI? In your understanding, is it a benign concept that will benefit everyone or does it have a sinis­ter ring to it?

Frankly, the Japanese government is not too happy to see such a coa­lition but we know that we can’t also stop it. The best option then is to give each country in the BRI or TPP the freedom to join the other organization as well. So long as the BRI is not a closed entity, we should be open to the idea. This is why although those in government in Japan were initially hostile to the BRI idea, they have come to increasingly accept it as a fact of life.

What do you make of the idea of ‘debt trap’? Some in Nepal say that soon the country will owe so much to China it will have no option but to accept greater Chi­nese intervention.

Relying too much on bilater­al negotiations with China is bad for any country. The way to go about it would be to enhance your links with other countries as well, for which you need not neces­sarily be anti-China, so that you don’t give the Chinese too much bargaining power. This is why it is vital for Nepal to maintain good relations with other members of South Asia as well as entities like the ASEAN. Otherwise, Nepal can­not say no to China or to India. So have good relations with everyone. South Korea successfully punches above its weight diplomatically because it can leverage its unique relations with the US, Japan and China to its advance. Nepal should do the same.

In the semifinals, we have got England as a rival. The winner of 1966, England, is now seen in a lot of rhythm. Many soccer fans around the world are rooting for England to win the game. Surely England is the name established in World Football.

However, we are not weak in the ongoing World Cup. In the group stage, we had confirmed the place by winning three games. 

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Sunkesari, a horror movie starring Reecha Sharma, which she is also producing, is being released on May 25. Sharma, who debuted as a supporting actress in the movie ‘First Love’ in 2012, is now one of the coun­try’s most popular and versatile actresses. She started her career as a model for various music videos, which earned her roles in TV serials. But it was the movie Loot—a highly successful crime thriller released in 2012—that marked a turning point in her career. Sharma was also a top-ten finalist in Miss Nepal 2007.

In your experience, how has the Nepali film industry evolved over time?

In some ways, it has developed a lot, but in other ways it has regressed too. Techni­cally we have evolved a lot. We may not be on a par with international standards, but we have started making wonderful movies. We’ve been successful in bringing back some of the audiences we lost. Also, our cinemas are no longer limited to Nepal because of the growing Nepali diaspora.

But, at the same time, unlike European countries where people visit movie theaters whenever they have free time, we haven’t developed a cinema-going culture. Many Nepalis still prefer Bollywood and Holly­wood movies, and they are unreasonably critical of Nepali movies, which has had a negative impact on our film industry.

Talking about the evolution of Nepali films, horror, traditionally, isn’t a suc­cessful genre in Nepal. What motivated you to make Sunkesari?

In the past five years or so, genres like comedy, romance and drama have flour­ished, which is a significant achievement. But, how long can we expect the audience to be drawn to these limited genres? The idea of establishing a new genre encouraged me. It was while watching ‘The Conjuring’ in a packed theater that I felt I wanted to try a horror movie.

Yes, there are various risks associated with this genre. I think the reason why the horror genre has not been successful so far is because we have not been imaginative. We cannot expect a movie to be successful just by having a ghost dressed up in a white sari wandering from one place to another while carrying a candle in her hand. (Laughs)

In Sunkesari, we have put in a lot of effort and have not compromised with quality. With the money we have invested in this movie, we could have made an extravagant film of another genre. I think this movie has various reasons to succeed but an equal number of reasons to fail. I sincerely hope it works, because if it does not, then it will be a long time before someone else attempts another horror flick.

Despite the relatively small size of the Nepali film industry, there are complaints that it lacks harmony. You were yourself recently involved in a bad spat. Why do you suppose that is the case?

It’s not that there is no harmony at all. Harmony does exist, but only among professionals who have dedi­cated their life to filmmaking. There are people—with lots of free time—who spread rumor just to create misunderstand­ing at a very personal level. It is a competitive industry and it is okay to dislike people but it is not okay to disrespect them.

Recently when I expressed my opin­ion about something I disliked, many people ganged up against me. They seemed to have forgotten that I am also a viewer and have opin­ions. In a public plat­form, compliments and criticisms are normal and one should not always expect compliments.

Finally, what purpose do you think movies serve? Is it just entertainment or should they also convey some social message?

Movies should always be made with a view to provide entertain­ment, because people take out time from their busy schedule to go to the theaters. But having said that, did mov­ies like 3 Idiots, Taare Zameen Par, etc only provide entertainment? They car­ried a powerful message too. When peo­ple left the theater, they had something to think about. That is what a cinema should ideally be: a mixture of entertainment and information. I would like to make a movie like that someday. But that is not what I have tried with Sunkesari. This one is all entertainment.

Turkish Airlines flies to 301 cities in 121 countries around the world. The Star Alliance Member started flying to Nepal in September 2013 and has been continuously ferrying people, to and fro, between Nepal and multiple global destinations. The airlines currently has five flights a week from Nepal, and is planning a daily flight starting this September.

Abdullah Tuncer KECECI, General Manager of Turkish Airlines Nepal office, talks to APEX about the presence of Turkish Airlines in Nepal, and about its future plans and possibilities.

As a representative of one of the biggest international carriers in the world, what do you make of the state of the Tribhuvan International Airport?

We are positive about the airport extending its opening hours from 18 to 21. And we hope it will be open for 24 hours soon. But at present, we would like the airport to open earlier.

Right now it opens at 6 am. Our flights are scheduled at 6:20 am, which creates many problems. We want the airport to open at around 4 am. That will also motivate other European carriers to come and will also decrease peak load. It will help everyone.

Also, there is too much traffic for a single-runway airport. There are upcoming airport projects all around Nepal and we are hopeful that they will increase the productivity in aviation sector. But as of now, air traffic in Kathmandu airport is a problem. It is not a good prac­tice to hold planes on air for 40-50 minutes. I hope the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal resolves this issue and help Nepal reach its vision of tourism development.

Turkish Airlines is known for promoting the countries it flies to. What is it doing to promote Nepal abroad?

We have a few plans to promote Nepal. We fly to global tourist des­tinations like London, Berlin, Stutt­gart, Helsinki, Moscow, Paris and Lisbon, to name a few, and our mis­sion has been to promote Nepal in all those destinations.

Nepalis are spending more on outbound travel than what the country is earning from tourism. As an international carrier, how do you evaluate the Nepali tour­ism market?

Nepal has a lot more capacity on tourism than what it is currently utilizing. You don’t have the sea but you have everything besides the sea, like mountains, rivers, cul­tural heritages, historic cities and natural beauty. Unfortunately, the country is being promoted in seasons like March/April and September/October.

What about people not interested in hiking to the mountains? Moun­tains were a strong theme for Nepal but then they became the weakest link at some point. We can’t afford to have only seasonal tourists coming here. So we have to promote Nepal for its people and places besides the mountains, and create an all-season tourist flow.

Also, the spending on outbound travel is not only because more peo­ple are travelling. It is also because of the labor flow.

How does Turkish Airlines con­nect with the people of Nepal? Why should Nepalis travelling abroad choose your airlines?

Most international flights started in Nepal to cater to the labor mar­ket here. But for us, from the day we started, we have been treating Nepal as one of the popular tourist destinations in the world. We even encourage other carriers to do that, and believe this well get a positive response from the people of Nepal.

We are trying to reach every peo­ple, not only who can travel. Our main target is to build a cultural bridge between Turkey and Nepal, and between Nepal and other coun­tries. For that reason we support other areas like sports, women empowerment, youth and children. If it was in our hands, we would support all those who want to do something for the country.

We want to make this earth­quake-affected Kathmandu city lively through our events. When the city is alive, people have more reason to come to Nepal. This in turn will empower Nepalis and create an intelligent movement of people. We’re also trying to build trade ties between Turkey and Nepal, which has increased significantly since we started operations.

The Turkish Airlines World Gold Tournament was held in Nepal this year. How was the response?

We did it for the first time in Nepal and got a warm response. Turkish Airlines has been hosting international golfing events in other countries over the past six years, mostly in golf destinations. This year we decided to increase the num­ber of destinations and included Nepal too.

We had a chance to host one leg of the tournament here in May. With this, Nepal is now in the golf net­work, which covers 64 countries around the world and more than 100 flight destinations. All in all, we are promoting Nepal as a golf desti­nation as well.

Besides that, we are planning to host other events in Nepal. Around our upcoming fifth anniversary in Nepal, we’re planning more events including a Turkish food festival.