Explaining Japan’s About-Face on Russia

The Kishida-Biden and Quad summits of May 23-24, 2022 showcased not only Biden’s determination to turn the Ukraine war into a catalyst for a more vigorous US policy […]

Japan

US-Japan relations had been on the upswing under Abe, but various uncertainties lingered. Obama was considered too weak on China. Abe’s wooing of Putin and early antagonizing of […]

Revisiting Russia’s “Turn to the East” amid the Ukraine War

A decade after Vladimir Putin declared that Russia would “Turn to the East,” he invaded Ukraine in the largest land war in the West since World War II. […]

Country Report: Japan (April 2022)

Country Report: Japan (March-April 2022) Only one subject, understandably, has preoccupied Japanese media coverage of foreign relations over the past two months: the war unleashed by Russia in […]

Tracking Japanese Thinking toward Asia: Early Abe, the Korean Peninsula, and Australia

This Special Forum approaches Japanese foreign policy from three angles. First, it tracks the momentous shift in thinking that occurred during the first four years of Abe Shinzo’s […]

Country Report: Japan (February 2022)

Two themes have garnered the bulk of attention in Japan’s foreign relations at the beginning of 2022: (1) Japan-Russia relations in the context of the looming war over […]

China’s Rhetoric toward South Korea: Smile Diplomacy Baring “Wolf Warrior” Teeth

Awaiting a new president in Seoul, Chinese publications continue to treat President Moon Jae-in with tolerance mixed with low expectations and guarded warnings. They often draw a sharp […]

Country Report: Japan (December 2021)

The autumn of 2021 was a time of transition in leadership without indication of any shift in foreign policy. The relationship with China had turned colder in 2020 […]

Washington Forum (September-October 2021)

In the late summer and early fall 2021 the number of webinars increased. China was, of course, on people’s minds, but most attention centered on the southern tier […]

The Japanese Government’s Shifting Rhetoric about Taiwan and Its Significance

As Kishida Fumio assumes the leadership of the LDP and the position of prime minister, one of the most pressing questions about the veteran foreign minister’s thinking toward […]