In December 2022, Japan introduced three security documents that laid out Tokyo’s most ambitious defense plans since the creation of the Japan Self-Defense Forces in 1954. In the documents, Tokyo promised to increase its military spending to 2 percent of Japan’s GDP and develop counterstrike capabilities to bolster deterrence. The documents, along with Japan’s defense agreements with Australia and the United Kingdom and improved Japan–South Korea relations, illustrate Tokyo’s dynamic thinking about its security environment, partnership commitments, and defense and technological capabilities. 

To assess Japan’s ambitious defense transformation, Hudson’s Japan Chair will host a panel with senior Japanese and American security professionals to discuss Japan’s growing security challenges, its need for integrated and comprehensive approaches to security, and its opportunities for deeper cooperation with allies and partners.

Growing Expectations for the US-Japan Alliance

Founded in 1961 by strategist Herman Kahn, Hudson Institute challenges conventional thinking and helps manage strategic transitions to the future through interdisciplinary studies in defense, international relations, economics, health care, technology, culture, and law. Hudson seeks to guide public policy makers and global leaders in government and business through a vigorous program of publications, conferences, policy briefings, and recommendations.

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After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders met in Madrid, Spain, to chart a new Strategic Concept for the alliance. The document identified Russia as “the most significant and direct threat to Allies’ security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area.” One year later, in Vilnius, Lithuania, NATO leaders met again to adopt a new set of regional defense plans to guard against Russian aggression.

Now comes the implementation. This July, NATO leaders will meet in Washington to assess the alliance’s progress in meeting its deterrence and defense targets. How strong is the West’s defense industrial base, and how prepared is NATO to defend itself if necessary? How will Sweden’s full membership in the alliance affect Northern Europe? 

Moreover, the war in Ukraine continues, and Kyiv has made no secret of its aspiration to join the alliance. So these are difficult questions that allied leaders cannot put off into the future. 

Please join Hudson Institute’s Peter Rough as he sits down with Lithuania’s minister of defense, Laurynas Kasčiūnas, for a conversation on these topics and more. 

Kasčiūnas was appointed minister of defense just last month after serving as chair of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence (NSGK). A past head of the Eastern Europe Studies Centre (EESC), Lithuania’s top think tank, Kasčiūnas wrote his doctoral dissertation on Ukraine’s relations with the European Union.

Northern Europe, NATO, and the War in Ukraine: A Conversation with Lithuanian Minister of Defense Laurynas Kasčiūnas

The foreign policy actions of many Latin American governments often contradict their principles. This disconnect causes leaders to pursue short-term objectives that do not address the region’s most pressing challenges, such as authoritarianism and organized crime.

The Maduro regime’s assassination of a Venezuelan exile in Chile and the Ecuadorian government’s arrest of a convicted former vice president at the Mexican embassy in Quito illustrate how poor foreign policy exacerbates lawlessness and democratic regression in the region.

Join Hudson for a conversation with academic and columnist Hector Schamis on how Latin American governments’ approach to foreign policy destabilizes the region and what a better approach might look like.

Latin America’s Foreign Policies at a Crossroads

The historic April summit between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida signaled a new era in United States–Japan relations. The summit produced agreements for enhancing economic ties, advancing technological innovation, coordinating diplomatic efforts, and strengthening security cooperation.

The president said that this is the most significant upgrade of the US-Japan alliance since it was first established. This upgrade comes at a critical juncture when the democratic nations of the world need to have all hands on deck. President Biden has made it clear that Japan is already standing shoulder to shoulder with the United States.

Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell will join Hudson Asia-Pacific Security Chair Patrick Cronin to examine the new outlook for this key alliance.

A Conversation with Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell: The New Era in the US-Japan Relationship

As Russia scores localized gains on land, Ukrainian forces have achieved major successes in the Black Sea Region (BSR). The Ukrainians have sunk or damaged some one-third of the Black Sea Fleet, forced Moscow to move naval assets away from occupied Crimea, and put Russia on the defensive. These successes challenge the narrative that Russia’s war against Ukraine is a stalemate and demonstrate Ukraine’s determination to preserve its identity, sovereignty, and independence.

Ukraine’s gains are real and strategically significant, but the Battle for the Black Sea is not over. Major Russian land, sea, and air assets remain in Crimea and in the BSR, and Moscow is using them to continue its quest to subordinate Ukraine. The war will be won or lost on land and in the air.

If Russia wins or ends the war on its terms, the interests of all Black Sea littoral states will be negatively affected. But so too will those of the United States, Europe, and the West more broadly. The US has a major interest in a free and open Black Sea and a peaceful, stable, and prosperous BSR.

Join Hudson for an event to present the results of an in-depth study written by a US–Romanian–Ukrainian team: Hudson Senior Fellow Matt Boyse, New Strategy Center CEO George Scutaru, New Strategy Center Senior Fellow Dr. Antonia Colibasanu, and New Geopolitics Research Network Director Mykhailo Samus.

The Battle for the Black Sea Is Not Over

Hudson is delighted to welcome Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala for a major policy address on the future of the transatlantic alliance.

Since assuming office in November 2021, Fiala has placed transatlantic cooperation at the heart of the Czech Republic’s foreign policy and marshalled crucial support for Ukraine in its hour of need.

As Fiala put it in October 2022, “Ukraine’s fight is our fight too. The Czech Republic’s fight, the European Union’s fight, the whole of Europe’s fight. Our own geopolitical prospects depend on the outcome of this war.”

Under Fiala’s leadership, Czechia is modernizing its military and increasing its defense budget. It has launched an initiative to repair and upgrade Ukrainian armor on Czech soil and hosts the third-most Ukrainian refugees in Europe. Most recently, and to much acclaim, the Czech Republic has spearheaded an initiative to source ammunition for Ukrainian forces from stockpiles across the globe. 

Join Hudson to hear Prime Minister Fiala’s understanding of the current moment and a Czech prescription for transatlantic relations in turbulent times.

Growing Expectations for the US-Japan Alliance

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