Japan Memo

Robert Ward hosts Dr Matsuda Takuya, Adjunct Lecturer at Aoyama Gakuin University, Dr Vida Macikenaite, Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of International Relations of the International University of Japan, and Dr Wrenn Yennie Lindgren, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Centre for Asian Research at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs.

Robert, Takuya, Vida and Wrenn discuss: 

• The recent development of Japan’s relationship with the Nordic and Baltic states
• Japan’s security cooperation with the Nordic and Baltic states from defense equipment to cyber security
• The Nordic and Baltic approach to authoritarian powers, including their eyes on the potential cooperation between Russia and China in the High North
• The similarities and differences in the security architecture of the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific regions

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 [email protected].

Date recorded: 6 September 2024 

Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert Ward hosts Professor Koga Kei, Associate Professor at Nanyang Technological University, Shiozawa Hideyuki, Senior Program Officer at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, and Euan Graham, Senior Analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

Robert, Kei, Hideyuki and Euan discuss: 

• Japan’s strategic approach to the Pacific Island countries
• China’s growing influence in the region
• Australia and its allies’ strategic objectives in the region
• Outlook of Japan and its allies’ approach to the region amid US-China rivalry

The following books are recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed: 

• Euan Graham, Australia's Security in China's Shadow, (Abingdon: Routledge for the IISS, 2023), 232pp.
• Yamamoto Syūgoro, 日日平安 [Hibi Heian], (Tokyo: Shinchōsha, 1965), 480pp.
• Yamamoto Tsunetomo, translated by William Scott Wilson, 葉隠 [Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai], (Boulder: Shambhala Publications Inc, 2012), 200pp. The original book was written around 1716.
• Koga Kei and Katada Saori, Japan as a Liminal Power: Evolving Grand Strategies from Meiji to Reiwa (coming soon).
• Andrew Oros, Asia's Growing Security Strategies of America's Ageing Allies, Adversaries and Partners (coming soon).

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 [email protected].

Date recorded: 31 July 2024 

Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert Ward hosts Richard J Samuels, Ford International Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kotani Ken, Professor at Nihon University in Japan, and Hosaka Sanshiro, Research Fellow at the International Centre for Defence and Security and PhD student at the University of Tartu.  

Robert, Richard, Ken and Sanshiro discuss:  

• The history of Japanese intelligence agencies 
• Japan’s current intelligence capabilities 
• Intelligence threats faced by Japan and the West 
• Outlook of intelligence operations 

The following books are recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:  

Tessa Morris-Suzuki, Exodus to North Korea: Shadows from Japan's Cold War, (Lanham, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2007), 302pp. 

John W. Dower, Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II, (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2000), 688pp. 

Kotani Ken, 日本インテリジェンス史：旧日本軍から公安、内調、ＮＳＣまで [Nihon Intelligence Shi: Kyu-nihongun Kara Kōan, Naichō, NSC Made], (Tokyo: Chuo Koron Shinsha, 2022), 296pp. 

Michael S. Molasky, 呑めば、都─居酒屋の東京 [Nomeba Miyako – Izakaya No Tokyo], (Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō, 2016), 400pp.  

Richard J. Samuels, Special Duty: A History of the Japanese Intelligence Community, (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2019), 384pp. 

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 [email protected]. 

Date recorded: 21 June 2024  

Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.  

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert Ward hosts Iwama Yoko, Professor at Japan's National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), Guibourg Delamotte, Professor of Political Science at the Japanese Studies Department of the French Institute of Oriental Studies (Inalco), and Dr Alexandra Sakaki, Deputy Head of the Asia Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs at Stiftung Wissenschaft and Politik (SWP).  

Robert, Yoko, Guibourg and Alexandra discuss Japan and the EU:  

• EU strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific amid Russia’s war against Ukraine 
• China's growing footprint in Europe and its implications for the EU's Indo-Pacific strategy 
• The development and challenges of enhanced defence cooperation between Japan and the EU 
• Implications for the future of the similarity between Japan’s and the EU’s economic security strategies 

For more information, transcript and background reading, please visit out website IISS Podcast: Japan Memo.

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 [email protected].

Date recorded: 24 May 2024  

Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.  

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert Ward hosts Chris Hughes, Professor of International Politics and Japanese Studies at the University of Warwick, Dr Naoko Aoki , Associate Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation, and Joseph Dempsey, Research Associate for Defence and Military Analysis at the IISS.

Robert, Chris, Naoko and Joseph discuss Japan and North Korea:

• Japan’s diplomatic strategy towards North Korea
• North Korea’s strategy for its advancing missile and nuclear capabilities
• The development of Japan’s counterstrike capabilities and the challenges they face
• Implications for Japan of the strategic cooperation between North Korea, China and Russia

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 [email protected] or visit our website The International Institute for Strategic Studies (iiss.org)

Date recorded: 26 April 2024

Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 [email protected]. 

Date recorded: 04 April 2024 

Japan 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 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 [email protected]. 

Date of Recording: 1 March 2024 

Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 [email protected]. 

Date of Recording: 31 January 2024 

Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.