Opinion

How ‘free-riding Japan’ came to embrace security multilateralism

The Japanese government has held senior-level meetings with Australia, France and the United States, and most recently, had talks with South Korea this week. On top of it all, the administration is working with other partners on North Korea’s recent missile launches and the crisis in Ukraine.T...

Opinion

Tokyo and Canberra quietly reach a major security milestone

Roughly 15 years ago, the Australian Defense Force was charged with protecting Japan Self-Defense Force units deployed to Samawah, Iraq, for reconstruction efforts.It was an arrangement necessitated by Japan’s peace Constitution and security laws, which restricted the SDF’s use of weapon...

Opinion

SDF quietly breaks new ground in Afghanistan withdrawal

Over the past few weeks, the world watched as the Taliban steadily captured Afghanistan, city by city, province by province.The swift collapse of the Ashraf Ghani government prompted mass evacuations from the country, both of foreign nationals and Afghans fearing what would become of them under Tali...

Opinion

Five things to watch in Japanese politics in 2021

Twenty twenty was a year full of things no one predicted for Japan: a global pandemic, a postponed Tokyo Olympics and a prime ministerial resignation, to name a few. While many will be sighing in relief at the prospect of a new year, the roller coaster ride for Japanese politics is not over. 2021 wi...

Opinion

Suga needs a new tack to make progress on North Korean abductees

Over the past few weeks, the issue of North Korean abductions has once again earned the spotlight in Japanese politics. In a U.N. meeting, the Japanese delegate called on the North Korean representative to work with Japan in addressing “abductions and forced disappearances.” Later, ...

Opinion

Understanding Japan’s future security relationships

Last week, Japan played host to a meeting of the foreign ministers from Japan, Australia, India and the United States. The purpose of the “Quad” meeting was to assess how to reinforce the rules-based international order and move jointly towards securing a “free and open Indo-Pacifi...

Opinion

What to watch for in the LDP leadership race

The Liberal Democratic Party leadership race is now set, and the three runners are at their marks. Granted, with five of seven factions backing him and an election engineered to handicap one of the candidates, Chief Cabinet Secretary YoshihideSuga is already well ahead of the pack.With Suga’s ...

Opinion

Covid-19: A strategic shock shakes the world

Sports arenas are without fans. Restrictions on travel are in place throughout the world. People’s interest in toilet paper has irrationally skyrocketed. Who predicted that this decade would begin with what the World Health Organization has just declared a pandemic?Welcome to the textbook defi...