Tobias Harris

The Observing Japan Podcast

News EN ↓ 7 episodes

A podcast featuring the week's biggest stories in Japanese politics and highlighting leading analytical voices on Japan and Asia. observingjapan.substack.com

Author

Tobias Harris

Episodes

Episode 6: Thinking the unthinkable about Japan's fiscal future, with James David Malcolm 19.06.2026 59:35

On the sixth episode of The Observing Japan Podcast, I discuss three things to know about Japan's politics this week, including: Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae's debut at the G7 in France and her meetings with her British and Italian counterparts; the Takaichi government's decision to move ahead with a cut of the consumption tax on foodstuffs to 1%; and the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) monetary policy dec...

Episode 5: The person-to-person foundation of the US-Japan relationship, with Joshua Walker 12.06.2026 50:07

On the fifth episode of The Observing Japan Podcast, I discuss three things to about Japan's politics this week, including: the scandal that could unsettle Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae's government; a discussion of revising Japan's three non-nuclear principles at the prime minister's national security advisory council; and the significance of the death of former Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lea...

Episode 4: How the Takaichi government is thinking about Russia with James Brown 05.06.2026 47:04

For the fourth episode of The Observing Japan Podcast, I discuss three things to know about Japan's politics this week, including: the Diet passes the Takaichi government's supplemental budget; Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae is ready to pursue a consumption tax cut, though there are details to hammer out; and Tokyo is looking to Southeast Asian countries as partners for arms exports. Then, I talk w...

Episode 3: The state of the Japan-South Korea relationship with Dan Sneider 29.05.2026 39:22

For the third episode of The Observing Japan Podcast, I discuss three things to know about Japan's politics this week, including: the Takaichi government's JPY 3.5tn supplemental budget; the passage of a landmark intelligence reform bill; and a state visit to Japan for Filipino President Bongbong Marcos. Then, I talk with Stanford lecturer Dan Sneider about the summit between Japanese Prime Minist...

Episode 2: Japan's Energy Security and the Hormuz Crisis with Jane Nakano 22.05.2026 57:20

For the second episode of The Observing Japan Podcast, I discuss three things to know about Japan's politics this week, including the Takaichi government's decision to begin drafting a supplemental budget; Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae's efforts to bolster her support within the Liberal Democratic Party; and the prime minister's latest summit with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. Then, I talk...

Episode 1: Eyck Freymann 15.05.2026 43:38

In the first episode of The Observing Japan Podcast, I discuss three things to know about Japan's politics this week, including: how Japan was watching the US-China summit ; the Hormuz crisis and the impact on Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae's fiscal ambitions ; and the Liberal Democratic Party's deliberations on defense spending . Then, I talked with Eyck Freymann , a Hoover fellow at Stanford Univ...

Introducing The Observing Japan Podcast 12.05.2026 2:09

I am Tobias Harris, a longtime analyst of Japanese politics and author of The Iconoclast: Shinzo Abe and the New Japan , and I am excited to announce the launch of The Observing Japan Podcast, which will debut on Friday this week. Episodes will feature a brief rundown of the top stories in Japanese politics — “Three Things You Should Know About Japanese Politics This Week” — followed by a conversa...