Aug 29,2018 Alternative Scenarios

Diplomacy II

Reviewing the most recent developments in security and military cooperation as well as diplomacy over the Korean Peninsula and the rise of China, this second view of the prospects for Sino-Japanese relations finds hope in what has been transpiring. The year 2018 shows signs of being a turning point in the relationship, leading to a […]

Tanaka Hitoshi*

HA/DR , Japan-China Maritime and Aerial Communication Mechanism , Singapore Summit , US-Japan alliance

Aug 29,2018 Alternative Scenarios

Diplomacy I

Future Prospects for Japan-China Cooperation This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Japan-China Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Over these four decades, Japan-China relations have gone through a number of ups and downs as history and territorial issues have at times hindered political relations while economic interdependence has deepened. Recently, Japan-China relations appear to […]

Tanaka Hitoshi*

East China Sea , Japan-China-South Korea trilateral summit , Senkaku Islands , TPP-11 , US-DPRK summit , US-Japan alliance

Jun 30,2018 Special Forum

US-China Relations

The first handshake between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in front of a backdrop of the American and North Korean flags was surreal in many ways. Just a few months before the two leaders had been exchanging insults and threatening nuclear war, to then rush toward a summit that was cancelled […]

Patricia M. Kim

Singapore Statement , Six-Party Talks , THAAD , Trump-Kim summit , US-Japan alliance , Xi-Kim summit

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

Dec 23,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: China (December 2017)

In late 2017, Chinese analysts explored Japan’s response to the North Korean nuclear crisis, its warmer relations with Russia, and conciliatory economic cooperation with the United States. They also analyzed South Korea’s foreign policy strategies, the implications of the Malabar exercises for Chinese interests in the Indo–Pacific, and the prospects for repairing Sino–Indian relations in […]

Danielle F. S. Cohen (assisted by Dong Jiaxin)

America First , Donglang dispute , Malabar exercises , middle power , THAAD , US-Japan alliance

Jul 03,2017 Open Forum

Japan’s Feelings of Marginalization in Spring 2017 and the US Factor

At this time of extraordinary flux, for some, Japan looms as an embodiment of stability and sound realist judgment. For others, it remains mired in the post-Cold War trap: stagnation without serious reform, revisionist obsessions without moves toward genuine reconciliation, and insularity without timely internationalization. In this article, I avoid these extremes to concentrate on […]

Gilbert Rozman

Abe-Trump summit , BRI , Moon-Trump summit , TPP , Trump-Xi Summit , US-Japan alliance

Jul 03,2017 Open Forum

Washington Insights (Vol. 5, No. 3)

In May and June, challenges mounted for observers of foreign relations in the Asia-Pacific region. Donald Trump kept throwing US policy into question. Clashing views of the Belt and Road forum left some anticipating Chinese leadership in regionalism and globalism, while others saw the forum as making little concrete progress. If the options for Japan […]

Editorial Staff

BRI , Donald Trump , G2 , TPP , US-Japan alliance , US-ROK alliance

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

Mar 23,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (March 2017)

In the first months of 2017, the cloud of impeachment hung heavily over South Korea’s foreign policy, while China’s anger at the THAAD deployment kept growing, and signs of the Trump administration taking a tough stance against North Korea’s increasingly serious threat capacity were growing too. Seoul’s relations with Tokyo were more troubled than before, […]

Editorial Staff (prepared by Han Minjeong)

Arms Race , ASEAN , comfort women , Eurasia Initiative , impeachment , India , Kaesong Industrial Complex , Kim Jong-nam , missile tests , NAPCI

Feb 02,2017 National Commentaries

A Japanese Perspective

On February 11, 2017, after having played golf with Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, President Donald Trump tweeted; "Having a great time hosting Prime Minister Abe in the United States!"1 Together with this comment, he uploaded a picture in which he was playing golf with Abe in Palm Beach, Florida. On the same day, Trump commented […]

Hosoya Yuichi*

Abe Shinzo , cost sharing , Diaoyu islands , liberal internationalism , NATO , Obama , pivot to Asia , rebalance , Senkaku Islands , Territorial Disputes