Japan’s defence and security roles in a Taiwan contingency with Satoru Mori and Zack Cooper

In this month’s episode of Japan Memo, Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino are joined by Satoru Mori, Professor at Keio University in Tokyo and a Senior Fellow at the Nakasone Peace Institute (NPI) and Zack Cooper, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).

Robert, Yuka, Satoru and Zack provide US and Japanese perspectives on Taiwan contingency scenarios; their analyses on Taiwan contingency wargames conducted in the US and Japan between 2021-2022; and offer assessments on what the US and Japan can and should do to better prepare for a contingency scenario in peacetime.

Topics discussed include:

• The outcomes of the wargames conducted between 2021-2022
• The challenges and limitations for the US, Japan and their alliance in a Taiwan contingency
• How Japan’s three new strategic documents will consider a Taiwan contingency
• The peacetime contingency preparations that should be undertaken by the US, Japan, and their alliance

The following literature is recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:

• ‘Self-respect and Independence of Mind: The Challenge of Yukichi Fukuzawa’ by Shinichi Kitaoka (translated by James M. Vardaman)
• ‘Japan Prepares for Total War’ by Michael Beinart

We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice.

Date of Recording: 25 November 2022

Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.

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