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February 14, 2022 Country Reports · Japan
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 […]

Editorial Staff

Cold War, Northern Territories, Russia, Ukraine, WWII
January 20, 2022 Open Forum
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 […]

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

COVID-19, CPTPP, Taiwan, US-China competition, US-Japan alliance
January 4, 2022 Country Reports · Japan
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 […]

Editorial Staff

COVID-19, CPTPP, Taiwan, US-China competition, US-Japan alliance
October 25, 2021 Open Forum
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 […]

Editorial Staff

AUKUS, COVID-19, CPTPP, Quad, Taiwan contingency
October 18, 2021 Open Forum
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 […]

Kawashima Shin*

CPTPP, free and open Indo-Pacific, Self-Defense Forces, Senkaku Islands, Taiwan contingency
September 24, 2021 Open Forum
Japan’s New Security Posture and Its Implications for Taiwan

In 2021 talk of conflict over Taiwan has grown to an unprecedented level, both in Japan and the United States. Bilateral plans for responding to Chinese coercion have […]

Yamaguchi Noboru*

free and open Indo-Pacific, Self-Defense Forces, Senkaku Islands, Taiwan contingency
July 19, 2021 China · Country Reports
Country Report: China (June 2021)

In mid-2021, a Chinese analysis assessed the long-lasting impact of former Prime Minister Abe on Sino–Japanese relations. The author lamented the deterioration of Sino–Japanese relations in April, especially […]

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

ASEAN centrality, Joe Biden, US-China rivalry, Xi Jinping
June 30, 2021 Country Reports · Japan
Country Report: Japan (June 2021)

The late spring of 2021 saw Japan solidify its alliance with the United States in a summit between Suga Yoshihide and Joe Biden and in the multilateral G7 […]

Editorial Staff

G7, multilateralism, Summit of Democracies, the Quad, US-China rivalry, Wolf Warrior Diplomacy
June 28, 2021 Open Forum
The US-Japan-ROK Trilateral in the Indo-Pacific Era: Strategic Alignment or Still in Flux?

After hitting rock bottom in the final years of the 2010s, prospects for the trilateral of the US-Japan-ROK have looked up in 2021, despite serious, lingering barriers. Four […]

Sakata Yasuyo

free and open Indo-Pacific, Quad Plus, Quad summit, trilateralism, US-China rivalry, US-ROK summit
June 28, 2021 National Commentaries
A US perspective

The undisputed evaluation of the summit is that it was a bilateral success. US media and think tanks alike acknowledged that each side gave the other enough to […]

Gilbert Rozman

free and open Indo-Pacific, the Quad, trilateralism, US-China rivalry, US-ROK summit