Japan Memo

In the first episode of Japan Memo season 3, Yuka Koshino, Mariko Togashi and Robert Ward host Professor Kanehara Nobukatsu, Professor at the Faculty of Law at Doshisha University, senior advisor at The Asia Group in Washington DC, and former Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary to Prime Minister Abe Shinzo from 2012 to 2019.

Yuka, Mariko, Robert and Kanehara-sensei unpack Japan’s three historic new national-security documents, offer their insights on the significance and details of these documents, analyse the impacts of the ensuing shift in Japanese security and defence policy, and delve into the regional and international perspectives of the three new strategies.

Topics discussed include:

• A macro-scale overview of the key strategy shifts in the documents
• Japan’s ability to develop counterstrike capabilities and their implications for deterrence and war-fighting capabilities
• The trajectory of Japan’s civil-military divide
• How to effectively integrate economic security into a broader national defence strategy
• Perspectives from strategic competitors, allies and like-minded countries

The following literature is recommended by our guest to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:

• ‘君たち、中国に勝てるのか’/ 岩田清文, 尾上定正, 武居智久, 兼原信克 (‘Can you win against China’ by Kiyofumi Iwata, Oue Sadamasa, Tomohisa Takei and Kanehara Nobukatsu)
• ‘国家安全保障戦略’ (‘National Security Strategy of Japan’ 2022)
• ‘国家防衛戦略’ (‘National Defence Strategy of Japan’ 2022)
• ‘防衛力整備計画’ (‘Defence Programme Guidelines’ 2022)

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: 9 January 2023

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, Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino are joined by Satoru Mori, Professor at Keio University in Tokyo and a Senior Fellow at the Nakasone Peace Institute (NPI) and Zack Cooper, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).

Robert, Yuka, Satoru and Zack provide US and Japanese perspectives on Taiwan contingency scenarios; their analyses on Taiwan contingency wargames conducted in the US and Japan between 2021-2022; and offer assessments on what the US and Japan can and should do to better prepare for a contingency scenario in peacetime.

Topics discussed include:

• The outcomes of the wargames conducted between 2021-2022
• The challenges and limitations for the US, Japan and their alliance in a Taiwan contingency
• How Japan’s three new strategic documents will consider a Taiwan contingency
• The peacetime contingency preparations that should be undertaken by the US, Japan, and their alliance

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

• ‘Self-respect and Independence of Mind: The Challenge of Yukichi Fukuzawa’ by Shinichi Kitaoka (translated by James M. Vardaman)
• ‘Japan Prepares for Total War’ by Michael Beinart

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: 25 November 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, Yuka Koshino is joined by Martijn Rasser, Senior Fellow and Director of the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for New American Security, Meia Nouwens, IISS Senior Fellow for Chinese Defence Policy and Military Modernisation, and Mariko Togashi, Matsumoto-Samata Research Fellow for Japanese Security and Defence Policy at the IISS.

Yuka, Martijn, Meia and Mariko provide US, Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese and European perspectives on their respective geoeconomic landscape and economic security policy; their views towards and preparations for a Taiwan contingency in the context of economic security; and offer their assessment of potential national and multilateral responses to such a contingency.

Topics discussed include:

• The economic security policies of the US, China, Taiwan and Japan
• US, Chinese, and Japanese views on the impact of a Taiwan contingency on economic security
• The global and regional semiconductor landscape and its impact on reactions to tensions in the Taiwan Strait
• A potential sanctions regime against China in a case of Taiwan contingency

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

• ‘Rich Nation, Strong Army’ by Richard J. Samuels
• ‘Middle Kingdom and Empire of the Rising Sun: Sino-Japanese Relations, Past and Present’ by June Teufel Dreyer
• ‘China and Japan: Facing History’ by Ezra Vogel
• ‘自衛隊最高幹部が語る台湾有事’ /岩田 清文 ,武居 智久, 尾上 定正, 兼原 信克 (‘JSDF Top Executives Talk About Taiwan Contingency’ by Iwata Kiyofumi, Takei Tomohisa, Oue Sadamasa and Kanehara Nobukatsu)

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: 10 November 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 Mariko Togashi host Matsubara Mihoko, chief cybersecurity strategist at NTT Corporation and research associate for Cyber, Space and Future Conflict at the IISS.

Yuka, Mariko and Mihoko-san analyse Japan’s approaches to cybersecurity, notably following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, offer perspectives on Japan’s cyber capabilities and their impact on national security, and give a rundown of the state of cybersecurity at Japan’s commercial level.

Topics discussed include:

• Hybrid warfare in Ukraine and its impact on Japan’s cyber policies
• Japan’s views on China’s increasing technological and cyber capabilities
• Japan’s cyber capabilities and its strengths and weaknesses
• Incorporating cyber into the upcoming defence document revisions
• How cybersecurity fits into Japan’s economic security framework

The following literature is recommended by our guest to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:

• “サイバーセキュリティ 組織を脅威から守る戦略・人材・インテリジェンス”, 松原 実穂子 (“Cybersecurity to Protect the Way of Our Digital Life” by Matsubara Mihoko)

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 October 2022

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.