Oct 12,2020 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (October 2020)

With Abe Shinzo’s decision to resign for health reasons at the end of August, discussion turned quickly to his legacy, including in international relations. One position was that he transformed Japanese politics, hollowing them out for foreign and domestic decision-making. He not only had been obsessed with amending the Constitution, he violated it with impunity, […]

Editorial Staff

"Belt and Road" Initiative , Donald Trump , free and open Indo-Pacific , Joe Biden , Northern Territories , Senkakus , US-China rivalry , Yoshihide Suga

Jul 29,2020 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (August 2020)

Japanese were asking in the late spring and early summer what the collapse of Sino-US ties means for their country and for bilateral relations with both parties. Would Abe’s pursuit of Xi Jinping, awaiting a delayed state visit by the Chinese leader, harm ties to the US? Would a lack of outrage about China’s policies, […]

Editorial Staff

COVID-19 , free and open Indo-Pacific , G7 , Hong Kong , Northern Territories , US-China trade war

Jun 01,2020 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (June 2020)

The spring of 2020 saw a downturn in Sino-Japanese relations, which were now embroiled in the pandemic war of words, with little else on the foreign policy radar. Some warnings about North Korea and Russia were heard, while wishful thinking about South Korea also appeared. Some raised the puzzle of why Abe’s poll numbers were […]

Editorial Staff

"Belt and Road" Initiative , Cold War , COVID-19 , Northern Territories , Senkaku Islands , Wolf Warrior Diplomacy

Jan 20,2020 Special Forum

The Case of Abe Shinzo

 On November 20, 2019, Abe Shinzo became the longest-serving prime minister in Japanese history, at 2,887 days, surpassing the previous record held by Katsura Tarō in the early 1900s. If Abe serves out his current third three-year term, he will be in office until September 2021. Inclusive of his one-year tenure in 2006-2007, he will […]

Glen S. Fukushima

Abe Shinzo , Abenomics , comfort women , Kantei , Liberal Democratic Party , Northern Territories , TPP , Yasukuni Shrine

May 28,2019 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (June 2019)

In the first half of spring 2019, in the face of a difficult environment for diplomacy with North Korea, Sino-US relations, and ROK-Japanese relations, Abe Shinzo continued to show initiative. He was defying the odds in continuing his pursuit of Vladimir Putin and trying to join the fray in pursuit of a summit with Kim […]

Editorial Staff

"Belt and Road" Initiative , free and open Indo-Pacific , G20 , Northern Territories , Putin-Kim summit , Reiwa

May 10,2019 Special Forum

The Case of Japan under Abe Shinzo

Consider the paradox of Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, who presented himself as the Japanese leader most committed to pursuing value-laden issues, becoming touted by 2019 as the one world leader in the caldron of Northeast Asia eschewing such issues for pragmatic pursuit of the national interest. Whether dealing with the leader of the United States, […]

Gilbert Rozman

"Belt and Road" Initiative , comfort women , free and open Indo-Pacific , Northern Territories , Yasukuni Shrine

Feb 19,2019 Special Forum

The Sino-Russian-US Triangle and Northeast Asia: A View from Japan

While there are various perspectives within Japan, here I set forth an individual viewpoint and analyze international politics as a long-time researcher of Russia. First, I couch my thinking in the context of today’s overall international situation and of a rough breakdown of the ongoing debate in Japan concerning the triangle and Japan’s ideal response. […]

Hakamada Shigeki

Aleksandr III , free and open Indo-Pacific , INF Treaty , NATO , Northern Territories , Senkaku Islands , TPP

Aug 17,2017 Open Forum

The Strange Rapprochement: Russian Military Pressure Tactics on the Northern Territories Issue

For the past several years, Japanese diplomacy has paid great attention to relations with Russia. After the second Abe cabinet was established in 2012, beginning with his visit to Russia in April 2013, Prime Minister Abe adopted positive diplomacy toward Russia, realizing as many as 18 summits by the time of the July 2017 G20 […]

Koizumi Yu

1956 Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration , Japan-US Security Treaty , Northern Territories , Senkaku Islands , Southern Kuriles

Apr 26,2017 National Commentaries

Japan-Russia-US Triangle

With the advent of the Trump administration, would not, first, Russo-US relations improve, allowing Japan to make progress in negotiations on the Northern Territories with Russia? Until early this year, within the Japanese government, there were expectations of this sort. However, from just before the Trump administration took office on January 20, doubts began floating […]

Omae Hitoshi*

1956 Japan-Soviet Union Joint Declaration , Crimea , Economic sanctions , Japan-US Security Treaty , joint economic activity , Northern Territories , Peace Treaty , Syria

Mar 27,2017 Open Forum

Recent Views in Japan Concerning Sino-Russian Relations

How Japanese officials, media, and academics interpret the state of the relationship between China and Russia matters for Japan’s diplomacy with both countries and its foreign policy more generally, including with the United States. If they see a strong bond verging on an alliance with little chance of weakening, then Tokyo must accept that it […]

Yoko Hirose

8-point economic cooperation plan , Abe Shinzo , Arms sales , Balance of power , BRICS , energy , G7 , India , Kuril Islands , media