Japan Memo The International Institute for Strategic Studies

Robert Ward hosts Alessio Patalano, Professor of War & Strategy in East Asia at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, Veerle Nouwens, the Executive Director of IISS-Asia, and Nick Childs, the IISS Senior Fellow for Naval Forces and Maritime Security. 
Robert, Alessio, Veerle, and Nick discuss Japan’s maritime security policy in the Indo-Pacific.
Topics discussed include: 
Japan’s positioning of maritime security policy in relation to other domains; China’s perspective on Japan’s growing maritime capabilities; Japan’s strategic navigation between different layers of partnerships; The impact of Trump’s possible re-election on Japan’s maritime security policy. 
We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on your podcast platform of choice. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at japanchair@iiss.org. 
Date recorded: 04 April 2024 
Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London. 


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In the second episode of Japan Memo season 4, Robert Ward hosts Higashino Atsuko, a Professor at the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Tsukuba, James Brown, a Professor of political science at Temple University, Japan campus, and Dr Nigel Gould-Davies, the IISS Senior Fellow for Russia and Eurasia. Robert, Atsuko, James and Nigel discuss Japan and the Russia-Ukraine war.
Topics discussed include: 
Japan’s response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine over the past two years; Japan's possible military aid to Ukraine amid growing aid fatigue among Western allies; Japan’s unflagging support for post-war rebuilding to Ukraine in the wake of the bilateral reconstruction conference in February 2024; Japan’s defence and energy policy amid rising security and geopolitical tensions with Russia  
The following books are recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed: 
Kanji Akagi, Kokusaianzenhoshou ga wakeru gaidobuku, (Japan Association for International Security, 2024), 288 pp. Mazower Mark, Dark Continent: Europe’s Twentieth Century, (Penguin Group, 1999), 512 pp. Muminov Sherzod, Eleven Winters of Discontent: The Siberian Internment and the Making of a New Japan, (Harvard University Press, 2022), 384 pp. Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Rashomon, (KADOKAWA, 1950)   
We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at japanchair@iiss.org. 
 
Date of Recording: 1 March 2024 
Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London. 

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Robert, Professor Sato, Aaron, and Evan discuss Japan’s relationship with ASEAN.
Topics discussed include: 

Japan’s shifting diplomatic and economic relationship with ASEAN amid the rapid growth of ASEAN countries; Japan-ASEAN security relationship in the increasingly complicated geopolitical landscape in the region; Japan’s defence policy in ASEAN amid rising competition between the US and China; ASEAN’s policy on navigating the great powers competition in the region. 
The episode's transcript can be found on https://www.iiss.org/podcasts/japan-memo/2024/02/japans-relationship-with-asean/
The following books are recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed: 

Wilhelm Vosse (ed.) and Paul Midford (ed.), Japan's new security partnerships: Beyond the security alliance, (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2018), 264 pp. Sakai Hidekazu (ed.) and Sato Yoichiro (ed.), Re-rising Japan: Its Strategic Power in International Relations, (New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2018), 264 pp. Danny Orbach, Curse on This Country: The Rebellious Army of Imperial Japan, (New York: Cornell University Press, 2017), 384 pp. Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino, Japan’s Effectiveness as a Geo-Economic Actor: Navigating Great-Power Competition, (London: Routledge, 2022), 168 pp. Gerald L Curtis, The Logic of Japanese Politics: Leaders, Institutions, and the Limits of Change, (New York: Columbia University Press, 1999), 336 pp. 
We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at japanchair@iiss.org. 
Date of Recording: 31 January 2024 
Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London. 

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In the twelfth episode of Japan Memo Season 3, Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino host Professor Taniguchi Tomohiko, a Visiting Professor at Takushoku University's Institute of World Studies and a Senior Fellow at the Alliance of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies and former Special Advisor to Prime Minister Abe's Cabinet and also as a Councillor in the Cabinet Secretariat (April 2013 to September 2020), where he contributed to crafting foreign policy speeches for Prime Minister Abe.
Robert, Yuka, and Professor Taniguchi discuss Abe’s Grand Strategy, especially focusing on his landmark speeches.
Topics discussed include:
Role of diplomatic speechwriter under the Abe administration
Former Prime Minister Abe’s grand strategy and diplomatic legacies
Significance of former Prime Minister Abe’s diplomatic speeches
Abe administration’s legacies in Japan’s foreign and defence policies

The following individuals are recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:
Crown Prince Naruhito, translated by Sir Hugh Cortazzi, The Thames and I: A Memoir by Prince Naruhito of Two Years at Oxford (Folkestone: Renaissance Books Ltd, 2019)
Geoffrey Bownas, Japanese Journeys: Writings and Reflections: Writings and Recollections (Epsom: Global Oriental; Illustrated edition, 2005)
Fukuzawa Yukichi, The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa (Tokyo: Library of Japan, 2000)
Ian Buruma, A Tokyo Romance (London: Atlantic Books, 2019)
Christopher Ross, Mishima's Sword: Travels in Search of a Samurai Legend (London: Fourth Estate Ltd. 2006)
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: 15 November 2023
Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.

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In the eleventh episode of Japan Memo Season 3, Robert Ward and Togashi Mariko host Professor Tanaka Koichiro, a professor at the Graduate School of Media and Governance at Keio University, and Dr Hasan Alhasan, Research Fellow for Middle East Policy at the IISS.
Robert, Mariko, Professor Tanaka, and Hasan discuss Japan’s relationship with the Middle East. Topics discussed include:

Japan’s key strategic interests including energy security in the Middle East.Japan’s standpoint and communication strategy regarding the Israel and Hamas conflict.Geopolitical and economic motivations of great powers in the Middle East.The perspectives of Gulf countries towards great-power geopolitics in the Middle East.The outlook for Japan’s relationship with the Middle East.
The following individuals are recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:
 Mohammed Jaber Al-Ansari, a prominent Bahraini philosopher and political thinker who is fascinated by the Japanese experience of being able to rise as a global industrial powerhouse. Dr Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary, an associate professor of economics at Tokai University and a vice president and co-founder of the International Society for Energy Transition Studies (ISETS).
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: 09 November 2023
Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.


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In the tenth episode of Japan Memo Season 3, Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino host Professor Kotani Tetsuo, a professor of global studies at Meikai University and a senior fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs; and Dr Lynn Kuok, Shangri-La Dialogue Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific Security at the IISS. 
Robert, Yuka, Tetsuo, and Lynn discuss Japan’s response towards expanding grey-zone situations in the Indo-Pacific region.
Topics discussed include: 
The historical background of grey-zone activity and its definition. The tactics and objectives of Chinese grey-zone activity in the East and the South China Seas. Japan’s perspective and policy on Chinese grey-zone coercion in the Indo-Pacific region. The issue facing Japan when dealing with Chinese grey-zone tactics. The future possibilities of grey-zone escalation and the possible measures taken by regional and international organisations. 
The following literature is recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed: 
Takahashi Sugio, Nippon de Gunji o Kataru To Iu Koto— Gunji Bunseki Nyūmon [Talking about the military in Japan: an introduction to military analysis] (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: 06 October 2023 
Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London. 

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