SPF Japan-U.S. Insights SPF Japan–U.S. Program

In this episode, we invited two distinguished experts Dr. Hal Brands and Dr. Zack Cooper to hold a discussion, "Challenges facing the U.S. and Japan in 2024: Russia-Ukraine War, Middle East, China, and the U.S. Presidential Election." Since the beginning of the Biden administration, the U.S. has faced three regional security issues: Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the war between Israel and Hamas, and competiton with China. In addition, the U.S. presidential election is coming up in 2024 amidst these circumstances. How does this destabilizing security environment and dynamics of domestic politics affect the U.S. strategy, which wants to focus on strategic competition with China? And what are the roles and challenges of the Japan-U.S. alliance under this circumstance? In this episode, Dr. Brands and Dr. Cooper discuss a wide range of issues, including the current international order and the U.S.-China relations, the impact of the U.S. domestic politics, and their implications for the Japan-U.S. alliance and the security of the Indo-Pacific region, such as the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait. You can listen to the podcast below.
 
Details of the podcast👇
https://www.spf.org/jpus-insights/ideas-and-analyses-en/20240119_01.html
 
(1) Recorded on: Wednesday, January 17, 2024 (JST)
(2) Discussants:
Dr. Hal Brands (Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University)
Dr. Zack Cooper (Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute)
*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this discussion are those of the speakers and do not represent the views of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation or the institutions to which the participants belong

Like-Minded Allies? Indo-Pacific Partners’ Views on Possible Changes in the U.S. Relationship with Taiwan
*This episode is originally from the webinar "Like-Minded Allies? Indo-Pacific Partners’ Views on Possible Changes in the U.S. Relationship with Taiwan" held on October 5, 2023.
Details of the seminar👇
https://www.spf.org/jpus-insights/ideas-and-analyses-en/20230926_01.html
This episode featured a report, "Like-Minded Allies? Indo-Pacific Partners' Views on Possible Changes in the U.S.-Japan Relations," which was the result of a study conducted by the RAND in cooperation with the Japan-U.S. Program. In this episode, three experts from the RAND, the core authors of the report, gave a background and overview of the report, such as the reason why they focus on allies rather than US policy on Taiwan itself, the perceptions and reactions of each ally, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines. Afterwards, two Japanese experts as commentators joined the discussion and they discussed various issues including the implications of the research in the view of China and Taiwan, and the influence of domestic politics in the U.S. and each ally. 
(1) Recorded on: Thursday, October 5, 2023  (JST)(2) Panelists:
Dr. Jeffrey W. Hornung（Senior Political Scientist, RAND Corporation）
Dr. Miranda Priebe (Director, Center for Analysis of U.S. Grand Strategy; Senior Political Scientist, RAND Corporation)
Dr. Bryan Rooney (Political Scientist, RAND Corporation)
Dr. Saya Kiba (Associate Professor, Department of International Relations, Kobe City University of Foreign Studies)
Mr. Tsuneo Watanabe (Senior Fellow, Security Studies Program, Sasakawa Peace Foundation)
*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this discussion are those of the speakers and do not represent the views of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation or the institutions to which the participants belong.
The original video of this episode is available on YouTube 👇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQBd3MU4XfE

*This episode is originally from the public seminar "The Future of U.S.-China Rivalry and Changes in the International Security Environment" held on August 22, 2023.
Details of the seminar👇
https://www.spf.org/jpus-insights/ideas-and-analyses-en/20230908.html
In this episode, we hosted Dr. Hal Brands (Professor, Johns Hopkins University, SAIS) and Dr. Zack Cooper (Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute).
Dr. Hal Brands is an expert on American strategy and Cold War history, and in recent years, he has written numerous articles and books on the U.S.-China rivalry and U.S. foreign policies. His recent book, Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China, was also published in Japanese and has received a lot of attention in Japan. Dr. Zack Cooper is also an expert on U.S. defense policy in Asia, alliances, and U.S.-China strategic competition, and has written numerous reports and articles and appeared on podcasts.
In this episode, Dr. Brands gave a speech based on his argument in Danger Zone; why China now faces peak-out, why this situation could increase the risk of US-China conflict, and what the US needs to do to deter China. Afterwards, Dr. Satoru Mori (Keio University) and Dr. Cooper joined a discussion with Dr. Brands, and exchanged their views and thoughs on a wide range of issues, including the impact of next year's election in Taiwan on China's policy, the role of nuclear weapons in Taiwan's contingency, and the prospect of strategic ambiguity. 
(1) Recorded on: Tuesday, August 22, 2023 (JST)(2) Speakers:
Speaker: Dr. Hal Brands (Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University)
Commentator: Dr. Zack Cooper (Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute)
Moderator: Dr. Satoru Mori (Professor, Faculty of Law, Keio University)
(3) Languages: English and Japanese
*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this discussion are those of the speakers and do not represent the views of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation or the institutions to which the participants belong.
The original video of this episode is available on YouTube 👇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG_iiPTlEEo

Two Nuclear Peer Problem: Implications for U.S. Nuclear Deterrence Strategy
In this episode, we welcome two distinguished experts; Dr. Brad Roberts and Mr. Sugio Takahashi. Dr. Roberts and Mr. Takahashi were involved in the publication of a report by CGSR entitled "China's Emergence as a Second Nuclear Peer: Implications for U.S. Nuclear Deterrence Strategy". Based on this report, they discuss a wide range of issues surrounding the nuclear weapons, including extended deterrence, hedging, counter force capability, arms controle, and command planning of Japan-US Alliance.
(1) Recorded on: Tuesday, April 18, 2023 (JST)(2) Discussants:
Dr. Brad Roberts (Director of the Center for Global Security Research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
Mr. Sugio Takahashi (Head of the Defense Policy Division of the Policy Studies Department at Japan’s National Institute for Defense Studies)
*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this discussion are those of the speakers and do not represent the views of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation or the institutions to which the participants belong.
The original video of this episode is available on YouTube 👇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayem0aWGNhM

2023年の米国：対中政策議論の現状
本エピソードでは、「アメリカ外交政策の中長期的展望と日本の課題」プロジェクトより松田康博氏（東京大学東洋文化研究所教授）をゲストにお招きし、「2023年の米国：対中政策議論の現状」と題する対談を実施いたしました。中国、台湾をめぐっては、ナンシー・ペロシ下院議長の訪台、半導体輸出規制、気球問題など、常に米国における議論の中心となっています。本対談では、モデレーターに秋田浩之氏（日本経済新聞社コメンテーター）をお迎えし、現在のアメリカにおける中国、台湾海峡をめぐる議論はどのように展開されているのか、松田氏がアメリカで直接現地調査をされて得られた知見も踏まえ、お話しいただきました。
（１）収録日：2023年3月9日（木）（２）対談者：　　　　　モデレーター：秋田浩之氏（日本経済新聞社コメンテーター）　スピーカー： 松田康博氏（東京大学東洋文化研究所教授）（３）使用言語：日本語
本エピソードのオリジナル動画はYouTubeにてご覧いただけます👇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FndCyXCWW4U　
調査・研究プロジェクトページはこちら👇
https://www.spf.org/jpus-insights/spf-future-japanus/movie20230310.html　

Great Power PoliticsとASEAN：東南アジアの視点から見る米中対立と秩序の変化
本エピソードでは、東南アジアがご専門の大庭三枝先生（神奈川大学教授）と古賀慶先生（シンガポール南洋理工大学准教授）をお迎えして、「Great Power PoliticsとASEAN：東南アジアの視点から見る米中対立と秩序の変化」をテーマに対談していただきました。古賀先生が本年９月までウィルソンセンター・ジャパンスカラーとして滞在された、米国ワシントンDCでの研究成果や、近著 Managing Great Power Politics: ASEAN, Institutional Strategy, and the South China Sea （Palgrave Macmillan、2022.9) での議論にも触れつつ、東南アジアの側から見た米中対立や大国への不信感、また「インド太平洋」という概念などについて、多岐にわたる論点を議論していただきました。
（１）収録日：2022年12月6日（火）（２）対談者：　　　　　モデレーター：大庭三枝氏（神奈川大学法学部法学研究科教授）　スピーカー：古賀慶氏（南洋理工大学社会科学部准教授）（３）使用言語：日本語
本エピソードのオリジナル動画はYouTubeにてご覧いただけます👇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH3EXcab_xg
古賀先生の論考「インド太平洋地域秩序構築と東南アジア：米国政策コミュニティにおける東南アジア・ASEANへの関心と現状」については下記より👇
https://www.spf.org/jpus-insights/views-from-inside-america/20221021.htmlhttps://www.keisoshobo.co.jp/book/b457055.html　
古賀先生の近著、Managing Great Power Politics: ASEAN, Institutional Strategy, and the South China Sea (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022）は下記より無料ダウンロードできます👇
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-19-2611-2