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  • Robert Ward hosts Axel Berkofsky, Associate Professor at the University of Pavia, Professor Hatakeyama Kyoko, Professor of International Relations at University of Niigata Prefecture, and Professor Takenaka Harukata, Professor of Political Science at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.

     

    Robert, Axel, Kyoko and Harukata discuss: 

    ·        Review of the Kishida administration’s security and foreign policy

    ·        The Ishiba administration’s foreign policy amid intensifying US-China competition

    ·        The Ishiba administration’s defence policy in Japan’s deteriorating security environment

    ·        The Ishiba administration’s economic security and domestic economic policies

     

    We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on your podcast platform of choice. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at [email protected].

     

    Date recorded: 08 October 2024 

    Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London


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  • Robert Ward hosts Dr Matsuda Takuya, Adjunct Lecturer at Aoyama Gakuin University, Dr Vida Macikenaite, Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of International Relations of the International University of Japan, and Dr Wrenn Yennie Lindgren, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Centre for Asian Research at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs.

     

    Robert, Takuya, Vida and Wrenn discuss: 

    The recent development of Japan’s relationship with the Nordic and Baltic statesJapan’s security cooperation with the Nordic and Baltic states from defense equipment to cyber securityThe Nordic and Baltic approach to authoritarian powers, including their eyes on the potential cooperation between Russia and China in the High NorthThe similarities and differences in the security architecture of the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific regions

      

    We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on your podcast platform of choice. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at [email protected].

     

    Date recorded: 6 September 2024 

    Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London. 


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  • Robert Ward hosts Professor Koga Kei, Associate Professor at Nanyang Technological University, Shiozawa Hideyuki, Senior Program Officer at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, and Euan Graham, Senior Analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

     

    Robert, Kei, Hideyuki and Euan discuss: 

    Japan’s strategic approach to the Pacific Island countriesChina’s growing influence in the regionAustralia and its allies’ strategic objectives in the regionOutlook of Japan and its allies’ approach to the region amid US-China rivalry

     

    The following books are recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed: 

    Euan Graham, Australia's Security in China's Shadow, (Abingdon: Routledge for the IISS, 2023), 232pp.Yamamoto Syūgoro, 日日平安 [Hibi Heian], (Tokyo: Shinchōsha, 1965), 480pp.Yamamoto Tsunetomo, translated by William Scott Wilson, 葉隠 [Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai], (Boulder: Shambhala Publications Inc, 2012), 200pp. The original book was written around 1716.Koga Kei and Katada Saori, Japan as a Liminal Power: Evolving Grand Strategies from Meiji to Reiwa (coming soon). Andrew Oros, Asia's Growing Security Strategies of America's Ageing Allies, Adversaries and Partners (coming soon).

    We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on your podcast platform of choice. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at [email protected].

     

    Date recorded: 31 July 2024 

    Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London


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  • Robert Ward hosts Richard J Samuels, Ford International Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kotani Ken, Professor at Nihon University in Japan, and Hosaka Sanshiro, Research Fellow at the International Centre for Defence and Security and PhD student at the University of Tartu.  

     

    Robert, Richard, Ken and Sanshiro discuss:  

    The history of Japanese intelligence agencies Japan’s current intelligence capabilities Intelligence threats faced by Japan and the West Outlook of intelligence operations 

     

    The following books are recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:  


    Tessa Morris-Suzuki, Exodus to North Korea: Shadows from Japan's Cold War, (Lanham, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2007), 302pp. 


    John W. Dower, Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II, (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2000), 688pp. 


    Kotani Ken, 日本インテリジェンス史:旧日本軍から公安、内調、NSCまで [Nihon Intelligence Shi: Kyu-nihongun Kara Kōan, Naichō, NSC Made], (Tokyo: Chuo Koron Shinsha, 2022), 296pp. 


    Michael S. Molasky, 呑めば、都─居酒屋の東京 [Nomeba Miyako – Izakaya No Tokyo], (Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō, 2016), 400pp.  


    Richard J. Samuels, Special Duty: A History of the Japanese Intelligence Community, (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2019), 384pp. 


    We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on your podcast platform of choice. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at [email protected]

     

    Date recorded: 21 June 2024  

    Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.  


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  • Robert Ward hosts Iwama Yoko, Professor at Japan's National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), Guibourg Delamotte, Professor of Political Science at the Japanese Studies Department of the French Institute of Oriental Studies (Inalco), and Dr Alexandra Sakaki, Deputy Head of the Asia Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs at Stiftung Wissenschaft and Politik (SWP).  

     

    Robert, Yoko, Guibourg and Alexandra discuss Japan and the EU:  

    EU strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific amid Russia’s war against Ukraine China's growing footprint in Europe and its implications for the EU's Indo-Pacific strategy The development and challenges of enhanced defence cooperation between Japan and the EU Implications for the future of the similarity between Japan’s and the EU’s economic security strategies 

    For more information, transcript and background reading, please visit out website IISS Podcast: Japan Memo.

     

    We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on your podcast platform of choice. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at [email protected].


    Date recorded: 24 May 2024  

    Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.  



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  • Robert Ward hosts Chris Hughes, Professor of International Politics and Japanese Studies at the University of Warwick, Dr Naoko Aoki , Associate Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation, and Joseph Dempsey, Research Associate for Defence and Military Analysis at the IISS.


    Robert, Chris, Naoko and Joseph discuss Japan and North Korea:

    Japan’s diplomatic strategy towards North KoreaNorth Korea’s strategy for its advancing missile and nuclear capabilitiesThe development of Japan’s counterstrike capabilities and the challenges they faceImplications for Japan of the strategic cooperation between North Korea, China and Russia

    We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on your podcast platform of choice. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at [email protected] or visit our website The International Institute for Strategic Studies (iiss.org)


    Date recorded: 26 April 2024

    Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.


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  • Robert Ward hosts Alessio Patalano, Professor of War & Strategy in East Asia at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, Veerle Nouwens, the Executive Director of IISS-Asia, and Nick Childs, the IISS Senior Fellow for Naval Forces and Maritime Security. 


    Robert, Alessio, Veerle, and Nick discuss Japan’s maritime security policy in the Indo-Pacific.


    Topics discussed include: 

    Japan’s positioning of maritime security policy in relation to other domains; China’s perspective on Japan’s growing maritime capabilities; Japan’s strategic navigation between different layers of partnerships; The impact of Trump’s possible re-election on Japan’s maritime security policy. 

    We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on your podcast platform of choice. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at [email protected]


    Date recorded: 04 April 2024 


    Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London


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  • In the second episode of Japan Memo season 4, Robert Ward hosts Higashino Atsuko, a Professor at the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Tsukuba, James Brown, a Professor of political science at Temple University, Japan campus, and Dr Nigel Gould-Davies, the IISS Senior Fellow for Russia and Eurasia. Robert, Atsuko, James and Nigel discuss Japan and the Russia-Ukraine war.


    Topics discussed include: 

    Japan’s response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine over the past two years; Japan's possible military aid to Ukraine amid growing aid fatigue among Western allies; Japan’s unflagging support for post-war rebuilding to Ukraine in the wake of the bilateral reconstruction conference in February 2024; Japan’s defence and energy policy amid rising security and geopolitical tensions with Russia 

     

    The following books are recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed: 

    Kanji Akagi, Kokusaianzenhoshou ga wakeru gaidobuku, (Japan Association for International Security, 2024), 288 pp. Mazower Mark, Dark Continent: Europe’s Twentieth Century, (Penguin Group, 1999), 512 pp. Muminov Sherzod, Eleven Winters of Discontent: The Siberian Internment and the Making of a New Japan, (Harvard University Press, 2022), 384 pp. Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Rashomon, (KADOKAWA, 1950)  

     

    We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at [email protected]

     

    Date of Recording: 1 March 2024 

    Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London


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  • Robert, Professor Sato, Aaron, and Evan discuss Japan’s relationship with ASEAN.


    Topics discussed include: 

    Japan’s shifting diplomatic and economic relationship with ASEAN amid the rapid growth of ASEAN countries; Japan-ASEAN security relationship in the increasingly complicated geopolitical landscape in the region; Japan’s defence policy in ASEAN amid rising competition between the US and China; ASEAN’s policy on navigating the great powers competition in the region. 

    The episode's transcript can be found on https://www.iiss.org/podcasts/japan-memo/2024/02/japans-relationship-with-asean/


    The following books are recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed: 

    Wilhelm Vosse (ed.) and Paul Midford (ed.), Japan's new security partnerships: Beyond the security alliance, (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2018), 264 pp. Sakai Hidekazu (ed.) and Sato Yoichiro (ed.), Re-rising Japan: Its Strategic Power in International Relations, (New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2018), 264 pp. Danny Orbach, Curse on This Country: The Rebellious Army of Imperial Japan, (New York: Cornell University Press, 2017), 384 pp. Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino, Japan’s Effectiveness as a Geo-Economic Actor: Navigating Great-Power Competition, (London: Routledge, 2022), 168 pp. Gerald L Curtis, The Logic of Japanese Politics: Leaders, Institutions, and the Limits of Change, (New York: Columbia University Press, 1999), 336 pp. 

    We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at [email protected]


    Date of Recording: 31 January 2024 

    Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London


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  • In the twelfth episode of Japan Memo Season 3, Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino host Professor Taniguchi Tomohiko, a Visiting Professor at Takushoku University's Institute of World Studies and a Senior Fellow at the Alliance of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies and former Special Advisor to Prime Minister Abe's Cabinet and also as a Councillor in the Cabinet Secretariat (April 2013 to September 2020), where he contributed to crafting foreign policy speeches for Prime Minister Abe.


    Robert, Yuka, and Professor Taniguchi discuss Abe’s Grand Strategy, especially focusing on his landmark speeches.


    Topics discussed include:


    Role of diplomatic speechwriter under the Abe administration


    Former Prime Minister Abe’s grand strategy and diplomatic legacies


    Significance of former Prime Minister Abe’s diplomatic speeches


    Abe administration’s legacies in Japan’s foreign and defence policies


    The following individuals are recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:


    Crown Prince Naruhito, translated by Sir Hugh Cortazzi, The Thames and I: A Memoir by Prince Naruhito of Two Years at Oxford (Folkestone: Renaissance Books Ltd, 2019)

    Geoffrey Bownas, Japanese Journeys: Writings and Reflections: Writings and Recollections (Epsom: Global Oriental; Illustrated edition, 2005)

    Fukuzawa Yukichi, The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa (Tokyo: Library of Japan, 2000)

    Ian Buruma, A Tokyo Romance (London: Atlantic Books, 2019)

    Christopher Ross, Mishima's Sword: Travels in Search of a Samurai Legend (London: Fourth Estate Ltd. 2006)


    We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice.


    Date of Recording: 15 November 2023

    Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.


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  • In the eleventh episode of Japan Memo Season 3, Robert Ward and Togashi Mariko host Professor Tanaka Koichiro, a professor at the Graduate School of Media and Governance at Keio University, and Dr Hasan Alhasan, Research Fellow for Middle East Policy at the IISS.


    Robert, Mariko, Professor Tanaka, and Hasan discuss Japan’s relationship with the Middle East. Topics discussed include:

    Japan’s key strategic interests including energy security in the Middle East.Japan’s standpoint and communication strategy regarding the Israel and Hamas conflict.Geopolitical and economic motivations of great powers in the Middle East.The perspectives of Gulf countries towards great-power geopolitics in the Middle East.The outlook for Japan’s relationship with the Middle East.

    The following individuals are recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:

     Mohammed Jaber Al-Ansari, a prominent Bahraini philosopher and political thinker who is fascinated by the Japanese experience of being able to rise as a global industrial powerhouse. Dr Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary, an associate professor of economics at Tokai University and a vice president and co-founder of the International Society for Energy Transition Studies (ISETS).

    We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice.


    Date of Recording: 09 November 2023

    Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.


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  • In the tenth episode of Japan Memo Season 3, Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino host Professor Kotani Tetsuo, a professor of global studies at Meikai University and a senior fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs; and Dr Lynn Kuok, Shangri-La Dialogue Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific Security at the IISS. 


    Robert, Yuka, Tetsuo, and Lynn discuss Japan’s response towards expanding grey-zone situations in the Indo-Pacific region.


    Topics discussed include: 

    The historical background of grey-zone activity and its definition. The tactics and objectives of Chinese grey-zone activity in the East and the South China Seas. Japan’s perspective and policy on Chinese grey-zone coercion in the Indo-Pacific region. The issue facing Japan when dealing with Chinese grey-zone tactics. The future possibilities of grey-zone escalation and the possible measures taken by regional and international organisations. 

    The following literature is recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed: 

    Takahashi Sugio, Nippon de Gunji o Kataru To Iu Koto— Gunji Bunseki Nyūmon [Talking about the military in Japan: an introduction to military analysis] (CHUOKORON-SHINSHA, 2023) 

    We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice. 

    Date of Recording: 06 October 2023 

    Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London


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  • In the ninth episode of Japan Memo season 3, Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino host Ambassador Sujan Chinoy, the Director General of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) in New Delhi who served as the Indian ambassador to Japan from 2015 to 2018; and Ambassador Masafumi Ishii, a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Gakushuin University who was the Japanese ambassador to Indonesia from 2017 to 2020. 


    Robert, Yuka, Ambassador Chinoy and Ambassador Ishii discuss Japan’s relationship with the Global South countries to navigate the complex international security and geo-economic environment amid Russia’s War in Ukraine and the US-China great power competition. The guests provide their insights on the evolving significance of the Global South, Japanese policies towards India and Indonesia, and the opportunities and challenges looking ahead.


    Topics discussed include: 

    The growing importance of the Global South in international affairs; Japan’s engagement with ASEAN countries to deal with the Russian and Chinese challenges to rules-based international order; The political motivation of Japan for engaging with India and Indonesia to tackle global security issues; Potential role of Japan as a bridge between the West and the Global South as the chair of this year’s G7; and Speaker perspectives on the opportunities and challenges in the future cooperation between Japan and the Global South. 

    The following literature is recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed: 

    Edwin O. Reischauer, Japan, The Story of a Nation, (Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1988) Ruth Benedict, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, (Indianapolis: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1946) 

    We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice. 


    Date of Recording: 24 August 2023 


    Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London


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  • In the eighth episode of Japan Memo Season 3, Yuka Koshino hosts Ben Schreer, Executive Director at the IISS-Europe and Head of European Security and Defence Programme, and Tsuruoka Michito, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Policy Management in Graduate school of Media and Governance at Keio University, as well as Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University Strategic & Defence Studies Centre (SDSC).


    Yuka, Ben, and Michito unpack the 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, and the developments around Japan-NATO cooperation and Japan’s responses to Russia’s war in Ukraine.


    Topics discussed include:

    Key takeaways from the 2023 NATO Summit and the impact of Prime Minister Kishida’s second attendance at a NATO summit;Assessment of the Individually Tailored Partnership Programmes (ITPP) between NATO and Japan for 2023-26, next steps for implementation;Implications of Japan’s adoption of NATO standards for defence equipment supply chain;NATO’s approach on China and engagement in the Indo-Pacific, including the debates over the potential opening of its liaison office in Tokyo.

     

    The following literature is recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:

    Tsuruoka Michito, Abe Shinzo Kaikoroku [Abe Shinzo’s Memoir] (Tokyo: Chuokoron-Shinsha, 2023)


    We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice.

    Date of Recording: 19 July 2023

    Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.


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  • In the seventh episode of Japan Memo Season 3, Robert Ward hosts Sakata Yasuyo, Professor of International Relations at the Kanda University of International Studies; Dr Mireya Solís, Director of the Center for East Asia Policy Studies, Philip Knight Chair in Japan Studies, and a Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Program at Brookings; and Dr Chung Min Lee, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Professor at the Institute of Convergence and Security Affairs, Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology. Dr Lee is also the Chairman of the IISS Advisory Council and a IISS Trustee.


    Robert, Sakata-sensei, Dr Lee and Dr Solís explore the factors spurring tension and reconciliation in the bilateral Japan-Republic of Korea (ROK) relationship, conventional and new challenges facing their relations, the status of bilateral and trilateral US-Japan-ROK cooperation and offer perspectives on ways forward for sustaining the recent rapprochement.


    Topics discussed include:


    ·        speaker perspectives on the drivers behind the recent bilateral rapprochement;

    ·        the impact of the Shangri-La Dialogue on bilateral and trilateral US-Japan-ROK relations;

    ·        areas of alignment between both countries’ Indo-Pacific strategies and potential areas of cooperation;

    ·        potential for economic, economic security and traditional security cooperation; and

    ·        speaker perspectives on the sustainability of the relationship and rapprochement.

     

    The following literature is recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:


    ·        Mireya Solis, Japan’s Quiet Leadership: Reshaping the Indo-Pacific (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 2023) (Forthcoming)

    ·        Yoichi Funabashi, The Peninsula Question: A Chronicle of the Second Korean Nuclear Crisis (Washington, DC: Brookings Institute Press, 2007).

    ·        Kishida Fumio, Kakuheiki no Nai Sekai e – Yūki Aru Heiwakokka no Kokorozashi [Towards a World without Nuclear Weapons: Aspirations of a Courageous and Peaceful Nation] (Tokyo: Nikkei BP, 2020).

    ·        Edited by Michael Raska, Richard A Bitzinger, The AI Wave in Defence Innovation: Assessing Military Artificial Intelligence Strategies, Capabilities, and Trajectories (London and New York: Routledge, 2023)


    We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice.


    Date of Recording: 28 June 2023


    Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.


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  • In this special edition of Japan Memo season 3, Robert Ward, Yuka Koshino and Mariko Togashi, report live on the 20th IISS Shangri-La Dialogue from Singapore.


    Robert, Yuka and Mariko interview Bill Emmott, Chair of the IISS Trustees, Dr Valerie Niquet, Senior Research Fellow at the Foundation for Strategic Research and Senior Fellow (non-resident) at the Japan Institute of International Affairs and Dr Jimbo Ken, Professor at the Faculty of Policy Management at Keio University, to gain their insights on key developments in the Dialogue.

     

    They also delve into the significance of this year’s Dialogue taking place amidst Russia’s war on Ukraine and the deepening connections between Western and Indo-Pacific security, accelerating strategic competition between the US and China, and Japan’s increasingly pro-active role in regional and global defence and diplomacy. Topics discussed include:

     

    Highlights from the Dialogue and how it differs from last yearAn analysis of Japanese Defense Minister Hamada Yasukazu’s speechJapan’s views on discussions surrounding economic security during the DialogueMinisterial-level debates on critical and advanced technologyWhat the 2023 IISS Shangri-La Dialogue says about Japan’s evolving role in the Indo-Pacific and beyond

     

    We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice.


    Date of Recording: 4 June 2023

    This episode of Japan Memo was recorded and produced in Singapore at the 2023 IISS Shangri-La Dialogue.


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  • In the fifth episode of Japan Memo season 3, Robert Ward hosts Dr Fukushima Akiko, senior fellow at the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research and non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute.


    Robert and Dr Fukushima delve into the history of Japan’s engagement with multilateralism and multilateral institutions, examine Japan’s role in multilateralism for the age of the great power competition, particularly its presidency of this year’s G7 summit, and analyse Japan’s strategic thinking towards multilateralism as a means to further enmesh itself across the globe.


    Topic discussed include:

    The importance of multilateralism and multilateral institutions to Japan’s national interests after the Second World War;the significance of Japan’s 2023 G7 presidency;Japan’s ability to work on numerous international security agendas as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council;Japan’s deepening ties with NATO and its future with the security alliance; andthe value-added of Japan’s non-member participation in multilateral forums such as ASEAN.

     

    The following literature is recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:

    Fukushima Akiko, ‘A New Logic of Multilateralism on Demand’, in: Hare, P.W., Manfredi-Sánchez, J.L., Weisbrode, K. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Diplomatic Reform and Innovation (Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023), 435-454John D. Ciorciari and Kiyoteru Tsutsui, The Courteous Power: Japan and Southeast Asia in the Indo-Pacific Era (Ann Arbour: University of Michigan Press, 2021)Amy Stanley, Stranger in the Shogun's City: A Japanese Woman and Her World (New York: Scribner, 2020).

     

    We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice.

    Date of Recording: 3 May 2023

    Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.


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  • In the fourth episode of Japan Memo season 3, Koshino Yuka hosts Professor Akiyama Nobumasa, Dean of the School of International and Public Policy and Professor at the Graduate School of Law at Hitotsubashi University, and William Alberque, Director of Strategy, Technology and Arms Control at the IISS.


    Yuka, Akiyama-sensei and William unpack the dynamics of nuclear issues in the region, examine the Kishida government’s responses to the nuclear security flashpoints surrounding Japan, and analyse Japan’s approaches towards reinvigorating the stalled process of nuclear arms control and disarmament. Topics discussed include:

    The dynamics of nuclear weapons development surrounding Japan;The credibility of US extended deterrence, debates on nuclear sharing and nuclear proliferation in the region;Japan’s policy tools and approaches to nuclear non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament;A ‘grand strategy’ for deterrence, nuclear non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament; and The significance of the 2023 Shangri-la Dialogue for addressing nuclear issues in the region.

    The following literature is recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:

    Mark Fitzpatrick, Asia's Latent Nuclear Powers: Japan, South Korea and Taiwan (London: IISS, 2016).Nobumasa Akiyama, ‘Genshi ryoku/ kaku mondai’ [Atomic Power and Nuclear Issue], in Syowa ship kogi [Lectures on History of Showa era], ed. Kiyotada Tsutsui (Tokyo: Chikuma Shobo, 2020), 245-267.Haruki Murakami, Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche (New York: Vintage International, 2003).Shin Godzilla, directed by Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi (Tokyo: Toho, 2016).

    We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice.


    Date of recording: 11 April 2023


    Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.


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  • In the third episode of Japan Memo season 3, Mariko Togashi hosts Bill Emmott, Chairman of the IISS Trustees, Chair of the Japan Society UK and an Ushioda Fellow of Tokyo College at the University of Tokyo, and Fenella McGerty, IISS Senior Fellow for Defence Economics.


    Mariko, Bill and Fenella analyse the balance between defence spending and other public spending priorities, unpack Prime Minister Kishida’s New Capitalism strategy and its implications for the defence budget increase, offer their views on how Japan could achieve the 2% defence spending target with other competing spending priorities, and examine how the defence budget increase can translate into greater military capabilities.


    Topics discussed include:

    The relationship between economic health and defence spending;New Capitalism and Japan’s economic growth;New Capitalism in achieving the defence budget increase to 2% of GDP;What is needed for Japan to translate the defence budget increase into greater military capability; and The Japanese defence industry’s role in building greater military capabilities

    The following literature is recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:

    Christopher W Hughes, ‘Japan’s defence industry,’ in The Economics of the Global Defence Industry, Keith Hartley and Jean Belin, ed. (New York: Routledge, 2019), 396-436.Bill Emmott, Japan’s Far More Female Future: Increasing Gender Equality and Reducing Workplace Insecurity Will Make Japan Stronger (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020).Matt Alt, Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World (Massachusetts: Little, Brown and Company, 2021).

    We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice.


    Date of Recording: 13 March 2023

    Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.


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  • In the second episode of Japan Memo season 3, Yuka Koshino hosts former Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) Lieutenant General Oue Sadamasa, currently Consulting Senior Fellow at the Institute of Geoeconomics in Tokyo, and Douglas Barrie, IISS Senior Fellow for Military Aerospace.


    Yuka, Oue-san and Doug analyse Japan’s current airpower and aerospace capabilities, assess the regional threats around Japan and how its new strategies and the JASDF might address them, offer their insights on opportunities and roadblocks to the landmark Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), and examine what Japan’s air force and air defence capabilities might look like beyond 2035.


    Topics discussed include:

    The security environment surrounding Japan and the imminent threats posed to the JASDF;The impact of the three new national-security documents on Japan’s airpower;The significance of GCAP and its progress so far;The industrial implications, opportunities and headwinds for GCAP to the British, Japanese and Italian defence industries; andJapan’s investment in advanced technology and future warfighting capabilities to sustain airpower beyond 2035.

    The following literature is recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:

    ‘令和4年版防衛白書 2022’ / ‘Defense of Japan 2022’ (Annual White Paper), Ministry of Defense, JapanLiterature by authors such as Endo Shusaku and Kawabata Yasunari

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    Date of Recording: 9 February 2023


    Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.


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