Japan Memo

Robert Ward hosts Chris Hughes , Professor of International Politics and Japanese Studies at the University of Warwick, Dr Naoko Aoki , Associate Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation, and Joseph Dempsey , Research Associate for Defence and Military Analysis at the IISS. Robert, Chris, Naoko and Joseph discuss Japan and North Korea: Japan’s diplomatic strategy towards North Korea North Korea...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 str...

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-...

In the ninth episode of Japan Memo season 3, Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino host Ambassador Sujan Chinoy, the Director General of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) in New Delhi who served as the Indian ambassador to Japan from 2015 to 2018; and Ambassador Masafumi Ishii, a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Gakushuin University who was the Japanese ambassador to...

In the eighth episode of Japan Memo Season 3, Yuka Koshino hosts Ben Schreer, Executive Director at the IISS-Europe and Head of European Security and Defence Programme, and Tsuruoka Michito, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Policy Management in Graduate school of Media and Governance at Keio University, as well as Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University Strategic & Defence S...

In the seventh episode of Japan Memo Season 3, Robert Ward hosts Sakata Yasuyo, Professor of International Relations at the Kanda University of International Studies; Dr Mireya Solís, Director of the Center for East Asia Policy Studies, Philip Knight Chair in Japan Studies, and a Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Program at Brookings; and Dr Chung Min Lee, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment...

In this special edition of Japan Memo season 3, Robert Ward, Yuka Koshino and Mariko Togashi, report live on the 20th IISS Shangri-La Dialogue from Singapore. Robert, Yuka and Mariko interview Bill Emmott, Chair of the IISS Trustees, Dr Valerie Niquet, Senior Research Fellow at the Foundation for Strategic Research and Senior Fellow (non-resident) at the Japan Institute of International Affairs an...

In the fifth episode of Japan Memo season 3, Robert Ward hosts Dr Fukushima Akiko, senior fellow at the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research and non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute. Robert and Dr Fukushima delve into the history of Japan’s engagement with multilateralism and multilateral institutions, examine Japan’s role in multilateralism for the age of the great power competition, particu...

In the fourth episode of Japan Memo season 3, Koshino Yuka hosts Professor Akiyama Nobumasa, Dean of the School of International and Public Policy and Professor at the Graduate School of Law at Hitotsubashi University, and William Alberque, Director of Strategy, Technology and Arms Control at the IISS. Yuka, Akiyama-sensei and William unpack the dynamics of nuclear issues in the region, examine th...

In the third episode of Japan Memo season 3, Mariko Togashi hosts Bill Emmott, Chairman of the IISS Trustees, Chair of the Japan Society UK and an Ushioda Fellow of Tokyo College at the University of Tokyo, and Fenella McGerty, IISS Senior Fellow for Defence Economics. Mariko, Bill and Fenella analyse the balance between defence spending and other public spending priorities, unpack Prime Minister...

In the second episode of Japan Memo season 3, Yuka Koshino hosts former Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) Lieutenant General Oue Sadamasa, currently Consulting Senior Fellow at the Institute of Geoeconomics in Tokyo, and Douglas Barrie, IISS Senior Fellow for Military Aerospace. Yuka, Oue-san and Doug analyse Japan’s current airpower and aerospace capabilities, assess the regional threats aroun...

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...

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 contingen...

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, Ma...

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 n...

In this episode of Japan Memo, Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino host Professor Takahara Akio, Director of the JICA Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development, Professor of Contemporary Chinese Politics at the University of Tokyo, Distinguished Research Fellow at the Japan Forum on International Relations, Senior Adjunct Fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs and Senior R...

In this episode of Japan Memo, Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino host Dr Tsuruoka Michito, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Policy Management at Keio University, as well as Senior Associate Fellow at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy (CSDS) at the Brussels School of Governance, and Senior Fellow at the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research. Robert, Yuka, and Tsuruoka-sensei unpack the...

In this episode of Japan Memo, Robert Ward and Mariko Togashi are joined by Dr Maria Shagina, the IISS Diamond-Brown Research Fellow for Economic Sanctions, Standards and Strategy. Maria brings her extensive knowledge on international sanctions, economic statecraft, and energy policies to discuss Japan’s sanctions on Russia in response to its aggressions in Ukraine and understand the broader dynam...

In this episode of Japan Memo, directly preceding the 2022 IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino host Kotani Tetsuo, professor of global studies at Meikai University and senior fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), and Dr Ueki Chikako Kawakatsu, professor of international relations at Waseda University’s Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies. Robert, Yuk...

In this month’s episode of Japan Memo, recorded in-person at Arundel House in London, Robert Ward and Mariko Togashi, IISS Research Fellow for Japanese Security and Defence Policy, are joined by Terazawa Tatsuya, Chairman and CEO of The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ). Robert, Mariko and Terazawa-san offer insig...

In this episode of Japan Memo, Yuka Koshino and Robert Ward are joined by Dr Valérie Niquet, senior research fellow at the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS) in Paris and the Japanese Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) in Tokyo. Robert, Yuka and Valérie discuss the causes and trends in the recent Franco-Japanese rapprochement, and the implications of increasing overlap in France and Ja...