Japan Memo

In this episode of Japan Memo, directly preceding the 2022 IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino host Kotani Tetsuo, professor of global studies at Meikai University and senior fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), and Dr Ueki Chikako Kawakatsu, professor of international relations at Waseda University’s Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies.

Robert, Yuka, Kotani-sensei and Ueki-sensei share their insights on the war in Ukraine’s impact on Asia’s existing security dynamics, Japan and its neighbours’ perceptions of and responses to these shifting dynamics, and invigorated debates in Tokyo surrounding Japan’s defence budget and capabilities. Topics discussed include:

• The effect of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Asia’s security
• The Kishida administration’s response to the crisis at home and with partners
• The Shangri-La Dialogue’s potential to foster critical discussions on Indo-Pacific security
• Domestic debates surrounding Japan’s defence budget, capabilities and revisions to its NSS

The following literature is recommended by our guests for a deeper understanding of the topics discussed:

• ‘安全保障を問いなおす : 「九条-安保体制」を越えて’ / 添谷芳秀著  (‘Rethinking Security: Going beyond the “Article 9 Alliance Regime”’ by Yoshihide Soeya)
• ‘East Asian Strategic Review’ by the National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS)
• ‘戦後日本の安全保障―日米同盟、憲法9条からNSCまで’ / 千々和 泰明 (‘Post-war Japan’s Security: The US-Japan alliance, from Article 9 to the NSC’ by Chijiwa Yasuaki)
• ‘Strategic Annual Report’ by the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA)

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: 26 May 2022

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

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

In this month’s episode of Japan Memo, recorded in-person at Arundel House in London, Robert Ward and Mariko Togashi, IISS Research Fellow for Japanese Security and Defence Policy, are joined by Terazawa Tatsuya, Chairman and CEO of The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ).

Robert, Mariko and Terazawa-san offer insights into Japan’s past, present and future energy policies, how they affect Japan’s national security, and the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the stability of global and Japanese energy security. Topics discussed include:

• The key vulnerabilities in Japan and the world’s energy mix exposed by the war in Ukraine

• Opportunities and issues surrounding nuclear and renewable energy in Japan

• How Japan can integrate its energy and security policies to achieve its geo-political goals

• The prospects for alternative energies and the benefits of energy partnerships 

The following literature is recommended by our guest for a deeper understanding of the topics discussed:

- ‘Bushido Capitalism: The code to redefine business for a sustainable future’ by Sakurada Kengo

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: 4 May 2022

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

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

In this episode of Japan Memo, Yuka Koshino and Robert Ward are joined by Dr Valérie Niquet, senior research fellow at the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS) in Paris and the Japanese Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) in Tokyo.

Robert, Yuka and Valérie discuss the causes and trends in the recent Franco-Japanese rapprochement, and the implications of increasing overlap in France and Japan’s Indo-Pacific strategies and international outlooks. Topics discussed include:

• The causes for a convergence of French and Japanese Indo-Pacific and international strategies
• Franco-Japanese approaches to minilateralism and multilateralism in the region
• Priority areas of cooperation in maritime security, advanced technology and Africa
• The impact of the war in Ukraine on France – Japan and EU – Japan ties

The following literature is recommended by our guest for a deeper understanding of the topics discussed:

• ‘Line of Advantage: Japan’s Grand Strategy in the Era of Abe Shinzō’ by Dr Michael J. Green
• ‘Le Japon en 100 questions : Un modèle en déclin ?’ (‘Japan in 100 questions: a model in decline?’) by Dr Valérie Niquet

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: 16 March 2022

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

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

Yuka Koshino is joined by Dr Suzuki Kazuto, professor of science and technology policy at the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo and senior fellow at the Asia Pacific Initiative, and Dr Bleddyn Bowen, lecturer in International Relations at the University of Leicester.

Bleddyn and Kazuto draw from their deep government and academic experience in European and Japanese space policy to shed light on Japan’s role in this increasingly critical and complex domain.

Topics discussed include:

• The uniqueness of space as an emerging strategic domain and its geo-political implications
• The history, drivers and trajectory of Japan’s space policy
• Assessing Japan’s space capabilities and placing them in an international context
• Multilateral cooperation in space and headwinds to Japan’s progress

The following literature is recommended by our guests for a deeper understanding of the topics discussed:

• ‘The EU–Japan Partnership in the Shadow of China: The Crisis of Liberalism’ by Axel Berkofsky, Christopher W. Hughes, Paul Midford, Marie Söderberg
• ‘NASA in the World’ by John Krige
• ‘In Defense of Japan: From the Market to the Military in Space Policy’ by Saadia M. Pekkanen and Paul Kallender-Umezu

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: 1 March 2022

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

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

In this episode of Japan Memo, Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino are joined by Dr Michael Green, senior vice president for Asia, Japan Chair, and Henry A. Kissinger Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and director of Asian Studies at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He also served on the National Security Council from 2001 to 2005, first as Director for Asian Affairs with responsibility for Japan, Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, and then as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director for Asia with responsibility for East Asia and South Asia.

Mike combines his deep knowledge of Japan and Asia, with his insider expertise in US security and foreign policy to put the US-Japan Alliance in today’s global strategic context. Topics covered include:

·        Alignments and divergences between the US and Japan’s strategic goals

·        US economic statecraft in Asia under the Biden Administration  

·        Diversifying regional security threats and upcoming revisions to Japan’s National Security Strategy

·        US – Japan cooperation in minilateral and multilateral frameworks in the Indo-Pacific

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: 31 January 2022

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

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

In episode 6 of Japan Memo, Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino are joined by Dr Sheila Smith, senior fellow for Asia-Pacific studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and Peter Landers, Tokyo bureau chief at The Wall Street Journal.

Sheila and Peter draw upon their expertise and on-the-ground insights to examine the implications of the 31st October 2021 general election. Topics discussed include:

·        Election results and changes in Japanese politics

·        Internal Liberal Democratic Party dynamics

·        Kishida Cabinet’s policies for Japan’s economy and economic security

·        Investments in defence and the potential to obtain strike capabilities

·        New appointments and impact on foreign policy

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: 24 November 2021

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

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

In episode five of Japan Memo, Yuka Koshino is joined by the UK’s Ambassador to Japan, Julia Longbottom, to discuss Japan – UK relations. She has been serving as Ambassador to Japan since March 2021 and it is her third posting to Japan. Between 1990 – 1993, she was in Tokyo as the Second Secretary in the Political Section of the British Embassy, then again between 2012 – 2016 as the Deputy Head of Mission.

Yuka and Ambassador Longbottom explore the Japan – UK relationship and how it has developed over the past few decades. Their conversation covers:

• Changes in Japan’s engagement in international affairs
• Gender challenges in Japanese society
• UK’s Indo-Pacific ‘tilt’
• HMS Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Japan and bilateral defence relations
• Opportunities for British and Japanese economic relations

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: 28 October 2021

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

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

Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino are joined by Murakami Yumiko, co-founder and general partner at MPower Partners, an ESG focused venture capital fund and former Head of the OECD Tokyo Centre. Prior to the OECD, she worked at Goldman Sachs in New York and London for approximately 20 years.

Drawing upon her vast wealth of experience, Yumiko shares with Robert and Yuka perspectives from the Japanese private sector on topics including:

•            Japanese private sector responses to decoupling from China

•            Japan’s leadership role in regional trade

•            The growing start-up scene

•            Demography challenges as opportunities

•            Importance of women in leadership positions

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: 29 September 2021

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

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

In this episode, Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino are joined by Dr Sanjaya Baru, a Distinguished Fellow at the United Service Institution of India where he conducts research on India's economic and strategic relations with Asia and the strategic imperatives of Indian economic policy. From 2004–2008, he was media adviser to former prime minister Manmohan Singh and was involved in facilitating early exchanges between India and Japan.

Robert, Yuka and Sanjaya discuss the growing strategic relationship between Japan and India and its implications for regional security and the economic environment. Topics discussed include:

• Historical development of the Japan–India relationship
• Japanese investments and infrastructure projects in India
• Japan’s role in India’s digital connectivity plans
• Bilateral and quadrilateral security cooperation
• India’s expectations for the Quad
• Impact of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan on India’s engagement in the Quad

We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice.

Spotify / Apple Podcasts

Date of Recording: 25 August 2021



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

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

In episode two of Japan Memo, co-hosts Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino are joined by Professor Jimbo Ken, a security and foreign policy expert from the Faculty of Policy Management at Keio University, to discuss the defence and security trends highlighted in Japan’s 2021 Defence White Paper, as well as:

•            Japan’s missile defence challenges

•            Japan’s investments in new domains (space, cyber, and electromagnetic spectrum)

•            The role of the US–Japan Alliance in meeting defence and economic security challenges 

•            The significance of the United Kingdom’s HMS Queen Elizabeth convoy in the Asia-Pacific

•            Japan’s expanding security relations with Southeast Asian states

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: 30 July 2021

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

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