May 15,2019 Open Forum

Washington Insights, Vol. 7, No. 2

Exchanges in DC are increasingly torn between a focus on bilateral relations—in particular, US relations with China, North Korea, South Korea, and Japan—or on trilateral relations. If the Sino-US relationship has enough heft to galvanize bilateral attention, the other pairings keep becoming enmeshed in triangular analysis. This report on recent seminars and presentations in DC […]

Editorial Staff

comfort women , Hanoi summit , Singapore Summit , trilateralism , US-Japan alliance , US-ROK alliance

Feb 19,2019 Special Forum

Introduction

As the 2010s draw to a close, the special character of the Sino-Russian-US great power triangle is on vivid display and hints can be detected that its nature could be changing. Whether one focuses on the hoopla accompanying summitry, on signs of each country’s adjustment in thinking regarding the bilateral relationships in the triangle, or […]

Editorial Staff

Abe Shinzo , America First , China Dream , Donald Trump , Sino-Russian alliance , US-Japan alliance , Vladimir Putin , Xi Jinping

Sep 04,2018 Open Forum

Can China Seduce Japan? 14 Reasons for Its Overtures in 2018

As Sino-US relations have deteriorated in 2018, Beijing has looked elsewhere in Asia for closer ties: to the Korean Peninsula, where Kim Jong-un was desperate to improve relations in order to pursue diplomacy with Donald Trump with his “back covered” and Moon Jae-in was awaiting pressure from Trump after enticing him into diplomacy with Kim […]

Gilbert Rozman

BRI , Confucius Institutes , South China Sea , trade war , US-Japan alliance

Aug 29,2018 Alternative Scenarios

Diplomacy II

Reviewing the most recent developments in security and military cooperation as well as diplomacy over the Korean Peninsula and the rise of China, this second view of the prospects for Sino-Japanese relations finds hope in what has been transpiring. The year 2018 shows signs of being a turning point in the relationship, leading to a […]

Tanaka Hitoshi*

HA/DR , Japan-China Maritime and Aerial Communication Mechanism , Singapore Summit , US-Japan alliance

Aug 29,2018 Alternative Scenarios

Diplomacy I

Future Prospects for Japan-China Cooperation This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Japan-China Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Over these four decades, Japan-China relations have gone through a number of ups and downs as history and territorial issues have at times hindered political relations while economic interdependence has deepened. Recently, Japan-China relations appear to […]

Tanaka Hitoshi*

East China Sea , Japan-China-South Korea trilateral summit , Senkaku Islands , TPP-11 , US-DPRK summit , US-Japan alliance

Jun 30,2018 Special Forum

US-China Relations

The first handshake between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in front of a backdrop of the American and North Korean flags was surreal in many ways. Just a few months before the two leaders had been exchanging insults and threatening nuclear war, to then rush toward a summit that was cancelled […]

Patricia M. Kim

Singapore Statement , Six-Party Talks , THAAD , Trump-Kim summit , US-Japan alliance , Xi-Kim summit

Jun 29,2018 Special Forum

US-Japan Relations

In the aftermath of the June 8-9 G7 summit in Charlevoix, Canada, which collapsed under the weight of President Donald Trump’s tariff tantrum, a photograph circulated—courtesy of German chancellor Angela Merkel’s twitter account—that captured the mood of the meeting.1 In the picture, Trump is seated, arms crossed, gazing placidly ahead, as European leaders, Merkel most […]

Brad Glosserman

CPTPP , free and open Indo-Pacific , Japan passing , Singapore Statement , Trump-Kim summit , US-Japan alliance

Dec 23,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: China (December 2017)

In late 2017, Chinese analysts explored Japan’s response to the North Korean nuclear crisis, its warmer relations with Russia, and conciliatory economic cooperation with the United States. They also analyzed South Korea’s foreign policy strategies, the implications of the Malabar exercises for Chinese interests in the Indo–Pacific, and the prospects for repairing Sino–Indian relations in […]

Danielle F. S. Cohen (assisted by Dong Jiaxin)

America First , Donglang dispute , Malabar exercises , middle power , THAAD , US-Japan alliance

Jul 03,2017 Open Forum

Japan’s Feelings of Marginalization in Spring 2017 and the US Factor

At this time of extraordinary flux, for some, Japan looms as an embodiment of stability and sound realist judgment. For others, it remains mired in the post-Cold War trap: stagnation without serious reform, revisionist obsessions without moves toward genuine reconciliation, and insularity without timely internationalization. In this article, I avoid these extremes to concentrate on […]

Gilbert Rozman

Abe-Trump summit , BRI , Moon-Trump summit , TPP , Trump-Xi Summit , US-Japan alliance

Jul 03,2017 Open Forum

Washington Insights (Vol. 5, No. 3)

In May and June, challenges mounted for observers of foreign relations in the Asia-Pacific region. Donald Trump kept throwing US policy into question. Clashing views of the Belt and Road forum left some anticipating Chinese leadership in regionalism and globalism, while others saw the forum as making little concrete progress. If the options for Japan […]

Editorial Staff

BRI , Donald Trump , G2 , TPP , US-Japan alliance , US-ROK alliance