Country Report: Russia (May 2023)

How closely should Russia align with China in the Asia-Pacific? Against the backdrop of the crisis in Ukraine, how is the regional architecture in Asia taking shape? Are […]

Country Report: Japan (May 2023)

The early spring of 2023 proved to be a busy time for Japanese diplomacy. After hosting Yoon Suk-yeol on a historic reconciliation visit, Kishida Fumio outlined a new […]

Country Report: South Korea (April 2023)

The recent South Korea-Japan and US-South Korea summits held in March and April have shown a glimmer of hope for the relationship between the three countries. However, the […]

Introduction

The articles in this special forum examine Japan’s foreign policy from three angles. The first provides an overview with a year-by-year breakdown for 2020-23. This is followed by […]

Country Report: Russia (March 2023)

In the late winter of 2023, China drew the closest Russian attention. India was second, as the overall trends in regional conflicts—East Asia versus Europe—and prospects of the […]

Country Report: South Korea (February 2023)

Marking the first anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war, the regional division around the Korean Peninsula, the US-led alliances on one side and North Korea-China-Russia on the other, has […]

Introduction

What made South Korean foreign policy different in the early 2020s? The balance between conservatives and progressives was little changed; a leader from one party gave way to […]

South Korea Confronts the New Missile Age: 2020-2022

For South Korean policy toward North Korea, the 2020-2022 period proved to be a watershed. Ever since the Sunshine Policy launched in 1998, leaders in Seoul had envisioned […]

Edging toward Bipolarity: South Korea’s Regional Reorientation, 2020-2022

The Moon to Yoon transition drew South Korea closer to the United States and even to Japan, while seeing a marked falloff in relations with Russia and looming […]

South Korea in the Crosswinds: Battling Partisan Narratives

The second half of Moon Jae-in’s presidency was marred by diplomatic deadlock, as talks between North Korea and the United States collapsed, tensions between China and the United […]