Japan and the Russia-Ukraine War with Professor Higashino Atsuko, Professor James D.J. Brown and Dr Nigel Gould-Davies

03/14/24 • 49 min

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.

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)

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.

Previous Episode

Japan’s relationship with ASEAN with Professor Sato Yoichiro, Aaron Connelly and Evan Laksmana

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.

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.

Next Episode

Japan’s maritime security policy in the Indo-Pacific with Professor Alessio Patalano, Veerle Nouwens and Nick Childs

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.