Dec 20,2016 Country Reports

Country Report: China (December 2016)

During the fall of 2016, Chinese experts continued to evaluate Sino-Russian and Sino-US relations. They drew attention to Japan’s “Taiwan faction,” assessed strengthening Japanese-Australian relations, and analyzed South Korea’s foreign relations strategy. They also considered the negative impact of local NGOs on China’s ability to complete various One Belt, One Road (OBOR) projects. Written before […]

Danielle F. S. Cohen (assisted by Dong Jiaxin)
Abe Shinzo , ASEAN , Asia pivot , Australia , Balance of power , BRICS , color revolutions , Diaoyu islands , East China Sea , energy
Dec 16,2016 Special Forum

Japanese Media on the Impact of Donald Trump’s Election on Japan and China

Japanese awakened to Donald Trump’s victory in disbelief, coining the label “Trump shock” to go with other “shocks” memorable in their history with the United States.1 A failure had occurred: of the US media, of the US role as the beacon of democracy, and of both a model of capitalism2 that was supposed to forestall […]

Gilbert Rozman
Abe Shinzo , Abenomics , ASEAN , Asia pivot , Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank , Balance of power , burden-sharing , containment , cross-Strait relations , Duterte
Dec 08,2016 Open Forum

US-Japan-India Trilateral Relations: Opportunities and Challenges

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Japan in November and made clear his desire to make relations with Japan, already quite strong, a key priority for Delhi in the coming years. Indeed, Modi and Prime Minister Abe Shinzo labeled the bilateral relationship a “special strategic and global partnership.” But while bilateral relations are progressing, Abe and […]

J. Berkshire Miller
Abe Shinzo , Asia rebalance , East China Sea , Indo-Pacific , Malabar exercises , Narendra Modi , National Security Strategy 2013 , Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty , principled security network , Senkaku Islands
Feb 23,2016 Open Forum

US-Japan Relations, 2015-2017

One year has passed since (in The Asan Forum 3, no. 1) I analyzed US-Japan relations during the first two years (December 2012-January 2015) of Abe Shinzo’s second term as prime minister. This article assesses developments in the bilateral relationship since then, examining what can be expected in 2016 and assessing prospects for 2017 under […]

Glen S. Fukushima
Abe Shinzo , Abenomics , Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) , US Presidential Primaries , US-Japan Joint Vision Statement , US-Japan Relations , US-Japan Security Treaty
Dec 09,2014 Open Forum

The New Fulcrum of Asia: The Indo-Japan Entente and the Rise of China

A new and potentially pivotal alignment of India and Japan is forming in response to China’s rise. This still informal security and military partnership implicitly premised on countering an ever-more-powerful China reflects deep common apprehensions about China’s rise and will probably take increasing substance in coming years. This entente marks a crucial failure of China’s […]

John W. Garver
1962 War , Abe Shinzo , Arms sales , India , military exercises , ODA , Security alignment , war memories
Apr 11,2014 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (April 2014)

February and March 2014 saw Japan much more isolated than at any point since the US occupation, but the shallowness and myopia of Japan’s media coverage stood out beyond earlier periods. Larger-than-life international personages were caricatured in ways that, at times, only faintly resembled analysis in other countries. The most negative coverage was devoted to […]

Editorial Staff
Abe Shinzo , international society , Park Geun-hye , public opinion war , reparations , trilateral summit , Ukraine
Feb 07,2014 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (February 2014)

This has been one of the richest periods for Japanese media coverage in memory. In covering Biden’s early December travel through the region at a time of renewed concern about a threat from China, the establishment of Japan’s National Security Council with attendant clarification of security guidelines, delayed negotiations over TPP, the backlash from Abe’s […]

Editorial Staff
Abe Shinzo , collective defense , Jang Song-Thaek , propaganda war , the China Dream , Yachi Shotaro , Yasukuni Shrine