Japan’s relationship with the Middle East with Professor Tanaka Koichiro and Hasan Alhasan

11/23/23 • 39 min

In the eleventh episode of Japan Memo Season 3, Robert Ward and Togashi Mariko host Professor Tanaka Koichiro, a professor at the Graduate School of Media and Governance at Keio University, and Dr Hasan Alhasan, Research Fellow for Middle East Policy at the IISS.

Robert, Mariko, Professor Tanaka, and Hasan discuss Japan’s relationship with the Middle East. Topics discussed include:

Japan’s key strategic interests including energy security in the Middle East.
Japan’s standpoint and communication strategy regarding the Israel and Hamas conflict.
Geopolitical and economic motivations of great powers in the Middle East.
The perspectives of Gulf countries towards great-power geopolitics in the Middle East.
The outlook for Japan’s relationship with the Middle East.

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

Mohammed Jaber Al-Ansari, a prominent Bahraini philosopher and political thinker who is fascinated by the Japanese experience of being able to rise as a global industrial powerhouse.
Dr Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary, an associate professor of economics at Tokai University and a vice president and co-founder of the International Society for Energy Transition Studies (ISETS).

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: 09 November 2023

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

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

Robert, Mariko, Professor Tanaka, and Hasan discuss Japan’s relationship with the Middle East. Topics discussed include:

Japan’s key strategic interests including energy security in the Middle East.
Japan’s standpoint and communication strategy regarding the Israel and Hamas conflict.
Geopolitical and economic motivations of great powers in the Middle East.
The perspectives of Gulf countries towards great-power geopolitics in the Middle East.
The outlook for Japan’s relationship with the Middle East.

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

Mohammed Jaber Al-Ansari, a prominent Bahraini philosopher and political thinker who is fascinated by the Japanese experience of being able to rise as a global industrial powerhouse.
Dr Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary, an associate professor of economics at Tokai University and a vice president and co-founder of the International Society for Energy Transition Studies (ISETS).

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: 09 November 2023

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 policy towards Grey-Zone activities in the Indo-Pacific with Professor Kotani Tetsuo and Lynn Kuok

In the tenth episode of Japan Memo Season 3, Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino host Professor Kotani Tetsuo, a professor of global studies at Meikai University and a senior fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs; and Dr Lynn Kuok, Shangri-La Dialogue Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific Security at the IISS.

Robert, Yuka, Tetsuo, and Lynn discuss Japan’s response towards expanding grey-zone situations in the Indo-Pacific region.

Topics discussed include:

The historical background of grey-zone activity and its definition.
The tactics and objectives of Chinese grey-zone activity in the East and the South China Seas.
Japan’s perspective and policy on Chinese grey-zone coercion in the Indo-Pacific region.
The issue facing Japan when dealing with Chinese grey-zone tactics.
The future possibilities of grey-zone escalation and the possible measures taken by regional and international organisations.

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

Takahashi Sugio, Nippon de Gunji o Kataru To Iu Koto— Gunji Bunseki Nyūmon [Talking about the military in Japan: an introduction to military analysis] (CHUOKORON-SHINSHA, 2023)

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: 06 October 2023

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

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

Next Episode

Abe’s Speeches and Grand Strategy with Professor Taniguchi Tomohiko

In the twelfth episode of Japan Memo Season 3, Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino host Professor Taniguchi Tomohiko, a Visiting Professor at Takushoku University's Institute of World Studies and a Senior Fellow at the Alliance of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies and former Special Advisor to Prime Minister Abe's Cabinet and also as a Councillor in the Cabinet Secretariat (April 2013 to September 2020), where he contributed to crafting foreign policy speeches for Prime Minister Abe.

Robert, Yuka, and Professor Taniguchi discuss Abe’s Grand Strategy, especially focusing on his landmark speeches.

Topics discussed include:

Role of diplomatic speechwriter under the Abe administration

Former Prime Minister Abe’s grand strategy and diplomatic legacies

Significance of former Prime Minister Abe’s diplomatic speeches

Abe administration’s legacies in Japan’s foreign and defence policies

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

Crown Prince Naruhito, translated by Sir Hugh Cortazzi, The Thames and I: A Memoir by Prince Naruhito of Two Years at Oxford (Folkestone: Renaissance Books Ltd, 2019)

Geoffrey Bownas, Japanese Journeys: Writings and Reflections: Writings and Recollections (Epsom: Global Oriental; Illustrated edition, 2005)

Fukuzawa Yukichi, The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa (Tokyo: Library of Japan, 2000)

Ian Buruma, A Tokyo Romance (London: Atlantic Books, 2019)

Christopher Ross, Mishima's Sword: Travels in Search of a Samurai Legend (London: Fourth Estate Ltd. 2006)

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: 15 November 2023

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

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