Feb 15,2021 National Commentaries

Reviving the US –Japan alliance

The year 2021 is likely to be frustrating for the US-Japan alliance.1 The return of a process-oriented, alliance-centered decision-maker to the White House has relieved alliance managers and supporters in both Washington and Tokyo. The more pointless irritants in the bilateral relationship will be removed. Business as usual can resume as national security bureaucrats in […]

Brad Glosserman

COVID-19 , free and open Indo-Pacific , Joe Biden , National Security Strategy , Nuclear Posture Review , Suga Yoshihide , trilateralism

Aug 31,2020 National Commentaries

A Japanese Perspective

Japan’s human rights policies, freighted with a historical baggage that South Koreans are well-aware of, are subtle, nuanced – and ultimately, quite frustrating. Governments in Tokyo continue to wrestle with the appropriate weight to give human rights in foreign policy. While recognizing that Japan’s status as a leading industrialized nation demands rhetorical support (at least) […]

Brad Glosserman

"Belt and Road" Initiative , COVID-19 , free and open Indo-Pacific , Hong Kong , Senkaku Islands , Shinzo Abe

Mar 01,2019 National Commentaries

A View from the United States

A powerful, animating ego is a prerequisite to success among national politicians, but US President Donald Trump takes self-confidence—and the blinders that come with it—to unprecedented heights. Characteristic of his drive and ambition is his claim at the Republican National Convention, after securing the party’s nomination to be its 2016 presidential candidate: “Nobody knows the […]

Brad Glosserman

FFVD , Hanoi summit , Nobel Peace Prize , Singapore Summit , Six-Party Talks , Thae Yong-ho

Jun 29,2018 Special Forum

US-Japan Relations

In the aftermath of the June 8-9 G7 summit in Charlevoix, Canada, which collapsed under the weight of President Donald Trump’s tariff tantrum, a photograph circulated—courtesy of German chancellor Angela Merkel’s twitter account—that captured the mood of the meeting.1 In the picture, Trump is seated, arms crossed, gazing placidly ahead, as European leaders, Merkel most […]

Brad Glosserman

CPTPP , free and open Indo-Pacific , Japan passing , Singapore Statement , Trump-Kim summit , US-Japan alliance

Feb 05,2015 Special Forum

Abe Unleashed? Hardly

Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and his LDP chalked up a third consecutive election victory and extended their hold on the Diet for two more years with a convincing win in the snap Lower House election held in late December. While the victory consolidates the LDP’s grip on power and confirms that Abe is the […]

Brad Glosserman

Abenomics , collective self-defense , Japan-US alliance , nuclear policy , Shinzo Abe , Territorial Disputes