Japan
Japan, the powerhouse of the Indo-Pacific, is an essential partner for Europe and France, against a backdrop of Sino-American rivalry and transformation of the international order.
Improving Economic Security: Proposals from Japan
The COVID-19 crisis has made clear the importance of resilient supply chains and effective economic security.
What Would Suga’s Indo-Pacific Strategy Look Like?
With the resignation of Prime Minister Abe, the future of Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy has been called into question. Abe was indeed one of the key architects of this vision and he devoted enormous energy to flesh it out.
Japan’s Hydrogen Society Ambition: 2020 Status and Perspectives
Japan has been steadfastly promoting the development of its hydrogen economy at all levels: political, diplomatic, economic and industrial. It is yet to be seen if this excitement can be turned into a credible, cost-effective and large scale deployment.
Japan’s Space Program: Shifting Away from “Non-Offensive” Purposes?
Japan’s space program has evolved greatly since the end of the Cold War, driven by a rapidly changing geopolitical environment and tailored by the emergence of an “intra-alliance hedging strategy”.
Japan in the 2019 G20 and G7 Summits: A Key Partner for Europe?
This essay offers a general assessment of Japan’s performance in the 2019 G20 and G7 Summits, held respectively in Osaka, Japan and Biarritz, France and looks at how Tokyo coordinated with its European partners (The European Union (EU) institutions and the EU Member States) in these international settings.
Japan’s Trade Policy in the Midst of Uncertainty
The multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been of the utmost importance for Japan’s trade policy.
Japan’s Indo-Pacific Strategy: Shaping a Hybrid Regional Order
What does Japan want in the Indo-Pacific? It can be tough to tell, because at the moment, Tokyo seems to be pursuing incompatible aims.
Japan in South East Asia: Looking for a Balanced Indo-Pacific
South East Asia is an area of utmost importance for Japan’s economic, political and security interests, amounting to “a core strategic interest” for Tokyo.
Macron in Japan: Upgrading the Franco-Japanese Strategic Partnership in the Indo-Pacific
On June 26, French President Emmanuel Macron will make his first, what is deemed to be a long overdue visit to Japan, a year after his previous travels to Asia led him to China (January 2018), India (March 2018), and Australia (May 2018).
Japan and Central Asia: Do Diplomacy and Business Go Hand-in-Hand?
Japan’s policies in post-Soviet Central Asia, similarly to its actions in other Asian subregions, have often been interpreted recently as reactions to China’s advances – in particular, the Belt and Road Initiative. This first impression can be misleading.
Japan's New Dual-Use Space Policy: The Long Road to the 21st Century
Japan’s latest space policy is designed to support a more proactive US-Japan alliance role in containing China, and robustly defend Japan against North Korean ballistic missile threats.
Japan's Energy Policy in a Post-3/11 World: Juggling Safety, Sustainability and Economics
The March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station turned Japan’s energy policy on its head, shedding a harsh new light on Japan’s energy policy and power supply system, and throwing into relief six major problem areas that had largely escaped scrutiny before the disaster.
China's Fortress Fleet-in-Being and its Implications for Japan's Security
This paper analyzes the rise of maritime China and its implications for Japan’s security policy.
Security Partnerships in Japan's Asia Strategy: Creating Order, Building Capacity and Sharing Burden
During the last decade, Japan has sought partnership with many Asian nations - the drive remaining strong regardless of ruling parties. Newly elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan is to continue this trend under the name of ‘value diplomacy".
Japan and the South China Sea: Forging Strategic Partnerships in a Divided Region
In the midst of growing tensions with China, Japan is deepening its strategic engagement in Southeast Asia. Preserving stability in the South China Sea, which is threatened by renewed frictions around contested territories, is a vital interest for sea lane-dependent Japan. Moreover, Tokyo considers Southeast Asian countries as crucial partners in balancing against an increasingly powerful and more assertive China.
Ballistic Missile Defense in Japan: Deterrence and Military Transformation
In December 2003, Japan decided to be the second country in the Asia-Pacific to deploy a ballistic missile defense (BMD) system.
Crossing the line: A new status quo in the East China Sea?
The decision of the Japanese Government to purchase a number of the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands from their private owner sparked fury in Beijing. Such spikes of fever between China and Japan are not without precedent. However, the gravity of this latest episode raises the question of whether a point of no return has been reached in the Sino-Japanese relationship.
Globalization of Japanese firms: Long-run Trends, Cross-sectional Variations, and Policy Implications
Japanese firms are increasingly involved in various global business operations - not only in traditional international trade in goods, but also in offshore production and the new mode of globalization: offshore outsourcing.
Rare Earths and the East China Sea: Why hasn't China embargoed shipments to Japan?
As tensions persist between China and Japan in the East China Sea, it is interesting to note that one of the most symbolic actions of the previous crisis has yet to make an appearance this time around.
Positioning of Nuclear in the Japanese Energy Mix
Nuclear fission was discovered in the late 1930s. The first application went towards military use, and gradually expanded to civil use such as power generation. Power generation gained importance in two stages: firstly, to shift away from oil in power generation after the oil shocks in the 1970s, and second, to arrest climate change due to CO2-free nature of nuclear power more recently. This typically applies to Japan, which has become the world third largest in nuclear power generation. However, nuclear power is violent by nature, and major accidents of nuclear power plants shook the public confidence in nuclear safety. Japan has been put into such situation in a most radical way due to the Fukushima nuclear disaster of March 2011.
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Center for Asian Studies
Asia is a nerve center for multiple global economic, political and security challenges. The Center for Asian Studies provides documented expertise and a platform for discussion on Asian issues to accompany decision makers and explain and contextualize developments in the region for the sake of a larger public dialogue.
The Center's research is organized along two major axes: relations between Asia's major powers and the rest of the world; and internal economic and social dynamics of Asian countries. The Center's research focuses primarily on China, Japan, India, Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific, but also covers Southeast Asia, the Korean peninsula and the Pacific Islands.
The Centre for Asian Studies maintains close institutional links with counterpart research institutes in Europe and Asia, and its researchers regularly carry out fieldwork in the region.
The Center organizes closed-door roundtables, expert-level seminars and a number of public events, including an Annual Conference, that welcome experts from Asia, Europe and the United States. The work of Center’s researchers, as well as that of their partners, is regularly published in the Center’s electronic journal Asie.Visions.