For the fourth episode of The Observing Japan Podcast, I discuss three things to know about Japan's politics this week, including: the Diet passes the Takaichi government's supplemental budget; Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae is ready to pursue a consumption tax cut, though there are details to hammer out; and Tokyo is looking to Southeast Asian countries as partners for arms exports.

Then, I talk with James DJ Brown, a professor at Temple University Japan, about the overall state of Japan's relationship with Russia. Our conversation covered the domestic drivers of Japan's Russia policy; Japan's pursuit of rapprochement under the second Abe administration; Japan's views of the Russia-Ukraine war; and Russia's place in Japan's strategic review this year.

Links

James DJ Brown, Cracking the Crab Hurst (outside US); Oxford University Press (US)

James DJ Brown, "Are Russia-Japan Relations Really Warming Up?" Carnegie Politika

James DJ Brown, "Japan Must Stop Its Embarrassing Embrace of Kremlin Cultural Projects," Moscow Times

For links to the stories discussed at the start of the episode, please visit observingjapan.substack.com.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit observingjapan.substack.com/subscribe

For the third episode of The Observing Japan Podcast, I discuss three things to know about Japan's politics this week, including: the Takaichi government's JPY 3.5tn supplemental budget; the passage of a landmark intelligence reform bill; and a state visit to Japan for Filipino President Bongbong Marcos.

Then, I talk with Stanford lecturer Dan Sneider about the summit between Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and the broader trajectory of Japan-South Korea relations.

Links

Dan Sneider, "How South Korea Can Buy Alliance Insurance," KEI

Dan Sneider, "How the War in Iran Reshapes South Korea and Japan’s Nuclear Strategy," KEI

"Japan-ROK Summit Meeting," Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

My 2023 conversation with Dan Sneider about Henry Kissinger and US-Japan relations

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit observingjapan.substack.com/subscribe

For the second episode of The Observing Japan Podcast, I discuss three things to know about Japan's politics this week, including the Takaichi government's decision to begin drafting a supplemental budget; Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae's efforts to bolster her support within the Liberal Democratic Party; and the prime minister's latest summit with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.

Then, I talked with Jane Nakano, senior fellow in the Energy Security and Climate Change program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), about the implications of the Hormuz crisis for Japan's energy security.

Links

Jane Nakano, "How the Hormuz Energy Crisis Is Reshaping US, South Korea, and Japan Energy Cooperation," The National Interest

Jane Nakano and Kristi Govella, "What Are the Implications of the Iran Conflict for Japan?" CSIS

METI, "Japan's 7th Basic Energy Plan," February 2025

MOFA, "Japan-ROK Summit Meeting," 19 May 2026

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit observingjapan.substack.com/subscribe

In the first episode of The Observing Japan Podcast, I discuss three things to know about Japan's politics this week, including: how Japan was watching the US-China summit; the Hormuz crisis and the impact on Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae's fiscal ambitions; and the Liberal Democratic Party's deliberations on defense spending.

Then, I talked with Eyck Freymann, a Hoover fellow at Stanford University, about his new book, Defending Taiwan.

Next week, I will talk with Jane Nakano, senior fellow in the energy security and climate change program at CSIS, about the Hormuz crisis and Japan's energy security.

Links

Defending Taiwan (OUP)

More about the book (Stanford)

Japanese-language summary

The OECD Japan survey

Please send questions or comments about the podcast to [email protected].

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit observingjapan.substack.com/subscribe

I am Tobias Harris, a longtime analyst of Japanese politics and author of The Iconoclast: Shinzo Abe and the New Japan, and I am excited to announce the launch of The Observing Japan Podcast, which will debut on Friday this week. Episodes will feature a brief rundown of the top stories in Japanese politics — “Three Things You Should Know About Japanese Politics This Week” — followed by a conversation with a guest. This week’s guest will be Stanford’s Eyck Freymann, author of the new book Defending Taiwan: A Strategy to Prevent War with China. The podcast will be available directly to subscribers, as well as on major podcast platforms.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit observingjapan.substack.com/subscribe