Japan Memo

In the eighth episode of Japan Memo Season 3, Yuka Koshino hosts Ben Schreer, Executive Director at the IISS-Europe and Head of European Security and Defence Programme, and Tsuruoka Michito, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Policy Management in Graduate school of Media and Governance at Keio University, as well as Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University Strategic & Defence Studies Centre (SDSC). Yuka, Ben, and Michito unpack the 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, and the developments around Japan-NATO cooperation and Japan’s responses to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Topics discussed include:Key takeaways from the 2023 NATO Summit and the impact of Prime Minister Kishida’s second attendance at a NATO summit;Assessment of the Individually Tailored Partnership Programmes (ITPP) between NATO and Japan for 2023-26, next steps for implementation;Implications of Japan’s adoption of NATO standards for defence equipment supply chain;NATO’s approach on China and engagement in the Indo-Pacific, including the debates over the potential opening of its liaison office in Tokyo. The following literature is recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:Tsuruoka Michito, Abe Shinzo Kaikoroku [Abe Shinzo’s Memoir] (Tokyo: Chuokoron-Shinsha, 2023) 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: 19 July 2023Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the seventh episode of Japan Memo Season 3, Robert Ward hosts Sakata Yasuyo, Professor of International Relations at the Kanda University of International Studies; Dr Mireya Solís, Director of the Center for East Asia Policy Studies, Philip Knight Chair in Japan Studies, and a Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Program at Brookings; and Dr Chung Min Lee, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Professor at the Institute of Convergence and Security Affairs, Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology. Dr Lee is also the Chairman of the IISS Advisory Council and a IISS Trustee.Robert, Sakata-sensei, Dr Lee and Dr Solís explore the factors spurring tension and reconciliation in the bilateral Japan-Republic of Korea (ROK) relationship, conventional and new challenges facing their relations, the status of bilateral and trilateral US-Japan-ROK cooperation and offer perspectives on ways forward for sustaining the recent rapprochement.Topics discussed include:·        speaker perspectives on the drivers behind the recent bilateral rapprochement;·        the impact of the Shangri-La Dialogue on bilateral and trilateral US-Japan-ROK relations;·        areas of alignment between both countries’ Indo-Pacific strategies and potential areas of cooperation;·        potential for economic, economic security and traditional security cooperation; and·        speaker perspectives on the sustainability of the relationship and rapprochement. The following literature is recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:·        Mireya Solis, Japan’s Quiet Leadership: Reshaping the Indo-Pacific (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 2023) (Forthcoming)·        Yoichi Funabashi, The Peninsula Question: A Chronicle of the Second Korean Nuclear Crisis (Washington, DC: Brookings Institute Press, 2007).·        Kishida Fumio, Kakuheiki no Nai Sekai e – Yūki Aru Heiwakokka no Kokorozashi [Towards a World without Nuclear Weapons: Aspirations of a Courageous and Peaceful Nation] (Tokyo: Nikkei BP, 2020).·        Edited by Michael Raska, Richard A Bitzinger, The AI Wave in Defence Innovation: Assessing Military Artificial Intelligence Strategies, Capabilities, and Trajectories (London and New York: Routledge, 2023)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: 28 June 2023Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special edition of Japan Memo season 3, Robert Ward, Yuka Koshino and Mariko Togashi, report live on the 20th IISS Shangri-La Dialogue from Singapore. Robert, Yuka and Mariko interview Bill Emmott, Chair of the IISS Trustees, Dr Valerie Niquet, Senior Research Fellow at the Foundation for Strategic Research and Senior Fellow (non-resident) at the Japan Institute of International Affairs and Dr Jimbo Ken, Professor at the Faculty of Policy Management at Keio University, to gain their insights on key developments in the Dialogue.  They also delve into the significance of this year’s Dialogue taking place amidst Russia’s war on Ukraine and the deepening connections between Western and Indo-Pacific security, accelerating strategic competition between the US and China, and Japan’s increasingly pro-active role in regional and global defence and diplomacy. Topics discussed include: Highlights from the Dialogue and how it differs from last yearAn analysis of Japanese Defense Minister Hamada Yasukazu’s speechJapan’s views on discussions surrounding economic security during the DialogueMinisterial-level debates on critical and advanced technologyWhat the 2023 IISS Shangri-La Dialogue says about Japan’s evolving role in the Indo-Pacific and beyond 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: 4 June 2023This episode of Japan Memo was recorded and produced in Singapore at the 2023 IISS Shangri-La Dialogue. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the fifth episode of Japan Memo season 3, Robert Ward hosts Dr Fukushima Akiko, senior fellow at the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research and non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute.Robert and Dr Fukushima delve into the history of Japan’s engagement with multilateralism and multilateral institutions, examine Japan’s role in multilateralism for the age of the great power competition, particularly its presidency of this year’s G7 summit, and analyse Japan’s strategic thinking towards multilateralism as a means to further enmesh itself across the globe.Topic discussed include:The importance of multilateralism and multilateral institutions to Japan’s national interests after the Second World War;the significance of Japan’s 2023 G7 presidency;Japan’s ability to work on numerous international security agendas as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council;Japan’s deepening ties with NATO and its future with the security alliance; andthe value-added of Japan’s non-member participation in multilateral forums such as ASEAN. The following literature is recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:Fukushima Akiko, ‘A New Logic of Multilateralism on Demand’, in: Hare, P.W., Manfredi-Sánchez, J.L., Weisbrode, K. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Diplomatic Reform and Innovation (Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023), 435-454John D. Ciorciari and Kiyoteru Tsutsui, The Courteous Power: Japan and Southeast Asia in the Indo-Pacific Era (Ann Arbour: University of Michigan Press, 2021)Amy Stanley, Stranger in the Shogun's City: A Japanese Woman and Her World (New York: Scribner, 2020). 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: 3 May 2023Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the fourth episode of Japan Memo season 3, Koshino Yuka hosts Professor Akiyama Nobumasa, Dean of the School of International and Public Policy and Professor at the Graduate School of Law at Hitotsubashi University, and William Alberque, Director of Strategy, Technology and Arms Control at the IISS.Yuka, Akiyama-sensei and William unpack the dynamics of nuclear issues in the region, examine the Kishida government’s responses to the nuclear security flashpoints surrounding Japan, and analyse Japan’s approaches towards reinvigorating the stalled process of nuclear arms control and disarmament. Topics discussed include:The dynamics of nuclear weapons development surrounding Japan;The credibility of US extended deterrence, debates on nuclear sharing and nuclear proliferation in the region;Japan’s policy tools and approaches to nuclear non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament;A ‘grand strategy’ for deterrence, nuclear non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament; and The significance of the 2023 Shangri-la Dialogue for addressing nuclear issues in the region. The following literature is recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:Mark Fitzpatrick, Asia's Latent Nuclear Powers: Japan, South Korea and Taiwan (London: IISS, 2016).Nobumasa Akiyama, ‘Genshi ryoku/ kaku mondai’ [Atomic Power and Nuclear Issue], in Syowa ship kogi [Lectures on History of Showa era], ed. Kiyotada Tsutsui (Tokyo: Chikuma Shobo, 2020), 245-267.Haruki Murakami, Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche (New York: Vintage International, 2003).Shin Godzilla, directed by Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi (Tokyo: Toho, 2016).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: 11 April 2023Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the third episode of Japan Memo season 3, Mariko Togashi hosts Bill Emmott, Chairman of the IISS Trustees, Chair of the Japan Society UK and an Ushioda Fellow of Tokyo College at the University of Tokyo, and Fenella McGerty, IISS Senior Fellow for Defence Economics.Mariko, Bill and Fenella analyse the balance between defence spending and other public spending priorities, unpack Prime Minister Kishida’s New Capitalism strategy and its implications for the defence budget increase, offer their views on how Japan could achieve the 2% defence spending target with other competing spending priorities, and examine how the defence budget increase can translate into greater military capabilities. Topics discussed include:The relationship between economic health and defence spending;New Capitalism and Japan’s economic growth;New Capitalism in achieving the defence budget increase to 2% of GDP;What is needed for Japan to translate the defence budget increase into greater military capability; and The Japanese defence industry’s role in building greater military capabilitiesThe following literature is recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:Christopher W Hughes, ‘Japan’s defence industry,’ in The Economics of the Global Defence Industry, Keith Hartley and Jean Belin, ed. (New York: Routledge, 2019), 396-436.Bill Emmott, Japan’s Far More Female Future: Increasing Gender Equality and Reducing Workplace Insecurity Will Make Japan Stronger (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020).Matt Alt, Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World (Massachusetts: Little, Brown and Company, 2021).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: 13 March 2023Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second episode of Japan Memo season 3, Yuka Koshino hosts former Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) Lieutenant General Oue Sadamasa, currently Consulting Senior Fellow at the Institute of Geoeconomics in Tokyo, and Douglas Barrie, IISS Senior Fellow for Military Aerospace.Yuka, Oue-san and Doug analyse Japan’s current airpower and aerospace capabilities, assess the regional threats around Japan and how its new strategies and the JASDF might address them, offer their insights on opportunities and roadblocks to the landmark Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), and examine what Japan’s air force and air defence capabilities might look like beyond 2035.Topics discussed include:The security environment surrounding Japan and the imminent threats posed to the JASDF;The impact of the three new national-security documents on Japan’s airpower;The significance of GCAP and its progress so far;The industrial implications, opportunities and headwinds for GCAP to the British, Japanese and Italian defence industries; andJapan’s investment in advanced technology and future warfighting capabilities to sustain airpower beyond 2035.The following literature is recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:‘令和4年版防衛白書 2022’ / ‘Defense of Japan 2022’ (Annual White Paper), Ministry of Defense, JapanLiterature by authors such as Endo Shusaku and Kawabata YasunariWe hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice.Date of Recording: 9 February 2023Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first episode of Japan Memo season 3, Yuka Koshino, Mariko Togashi and Robert Ward host Professor Kanehara Nobukatsu, Professor at the Faculty of Law at Doshisha University, senior advisor at The Asia Group in Washington DC, and former Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary to Prime Minister Abe Shinzo from 2012 to 2019.Yuka, Mariko, Robert and Kanehara-sensei unpack Japan’s three historic new national-security documents, offer their insights on the significance and details of these documents, analyse the impacts of the ensuing shift in Japanese security and defence policy, and delve into the regional and international perspectives of the three new strategies. Topics discussed include:A macro-scale overview of the key strategy shifts in the documentsJapan’s ability to develop counterstrike capabilities and their implications for deterrence and war-fighting capabilitiesThe trajectory of Japan’s civil-military divideHow to effectively integrate economic security into a broader national defence strategyPerspectives from strategic competitors, allies and like-minded countriesThe following literature is recommended by our guest to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:‘君たち、中国に勝てるのか’/ 岩田清文, 尾上定正, 武居智久, 兼原信克 (‘Can you win against China’ by Kiyofumi Iwata, Oue Sadamasa, Tomohisa Takei and Kanehara Nobukatsu)‘国家安全保障戦略’ (‘National Security Strategy of Japan’ 2022)‘国家防衛戦略’ (‘National Defence Strategy of Japan’ 2022)‘防衛力整備計画’ (‘Defence Programme Guidelines’ 2022)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: 9 January 2023Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 2021-2022The challenges and limitations for the US, Japan and their alliance in a Taiwan contingencyHow Japan’s three new strategic documents will consider a Taiwan contingencyThe peacetime contingency preparations that should be undertaken by the US, Japan, and their allianceThe 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 2022Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this month’s episode of Japan Memo, Yuka Koshino is joined by Martijn Rasser, Senior Fellow and Director of the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for New American Security, Meia Nouwens, IISS Senior Fellow for Chinese Defence Policy and Military Modernisation, and Mariko Togashi, Matsumoto-Samata Research Fellow for Japanese Security and Defence Policy at the IISS.Yuka, Martijn, Meia and Mariko provide US, Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese and European perspectives on their respective geoeconomic landscape and economic security policy; their views towards and preparations for a Taiwan contingency in the context of economic security; and offer their assessment of potential national and multilateral responses to such a contingency.Topics discussed include:The economic security policies of the US, China, Taiwan and JapanUS, Chinese, and Japanese views on the impact of a Taiwan contingency on economic securityThe global and regional semiconductor landscape and its impact on reactions to tensions in the Taiwan StraitA potential sanctions regime against China in a case of Taiwan contingency The following literature is recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:‘Rich Nation, Strong Army’ by Richard J. Samuels‘Middle Kingdom and Empire of the Rising Sun: Sino-Japanese Relations, Past and Present’ by June Teufel Dreyer‘China and Japan: Facing History’ by Ezra Vogel‘自衛隊最高幹部が語る台湾有事’ /岩田 清文 ,武居 智久, 尾上 定正, 兼原 信克 (‘JSDF Top Executives Talk About Taiwan Contingency’ by Iwata Kiyofumi, Takei Tomohisa, Oue Sadamasa and Kanehara Nobukatsu)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: 10 November 2022Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.