ARTICLES

16 Jan 2023

Japan’s Responses to Chinese Grey-Zone Tactics: Giving Southeast Asia A Leg-up

Yoichiro Sato

With some experience in managing Chinese assertiveness in the East China Sea, Japan is helping Southeast Asian countries manage Beijing’s actions in disputed maritime areas.

30 Nov 2022

Japan’s Counter-strike Missiles and Southeast Asia’s “Nuclear” Question

Yoichiro Sato

Japan is considering the deployment of non-nuclear counter-strike capabilities in the face of growing threats from North Korea and China. This might have a bearing on Southeast Asia.

Defence Japan Japan-Southeast Asia Relations

25 Oct 2022

Cooperation, Challenges and Charms: The UNCLOS for Japan

Yurika Ishii

Japan has made solid contributions to the global rules-based order. Notwithstanding Japan’s efforts for international cooperation, challenges remain in implementing UNCLOS.

Japan Japan-Southeast Asia Relations UNCLOS Why UNCLOS Matters

26 Jul 2022

Shinzo Abe’s Legacy: The Centrality of Southeast Asia

David Arase

Shinzo Abe learned that Japan’s security did not lie in its military, but Japan’s good citizenship in a free-trading rules-based order. Southeast Asia was central to his pursuit of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

ASEAN Indo-Pacific Japan Japan-Southeast Asia Relations

24 Jun 2022

Bon Odori in Malaysia: Dance-off between Revivalism and Multiculturalism

Faris Ridzuan|Afra Alatas

The controversy caused by warnings to Malaysia’s Muslims not to participate in a Japanese-inspired summer festival raises important questions about how Malaysia can sustain its multicultural character against the rising tide of Islamisation.

Islam Japan Malaysia

23 May 2022

Kishida’s Charm Diplomacy in Southeast Asia: Moral Suasion Does the Trick

Lim Tai Wei|William Choong

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visits to Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand have burnished Japan’s regional credentials, particularly on contentious issues such as the war in Ukraine, the South China Sea disputes and the evolving order in the Indo-Pacific.

Indo-Pacific International Relations Japan Japan-Southeast Asia Relations South China Sea

8 Mar 2022

The State of Southeast Asia Survey

Japan’s Standing in Southeast Asia: Down But Not Out

Lim Tai Wei

Japan has suffered some dips in ranking in the 2022 State of Southeast Asia Survey. That said, Japan’s residual soft power in the region remains undisputed.

Japan Japan-Southeast Asia Relations State of Southeast Asia Survey

15 Feb 2022

Fall of Singapore 80 Years On: Lessons Transcend Time and Place

Euan Graham

The local lessons from the dramatic defeat of British and Commonwealth forces at the hands of the Japanese in 1942 have been well learned and internalised. Eighty years on, there are still wider lessons to be gleaned that transcend time and place.

Defence Japan Singapore U.K.

28 Jan 2022

Is Kishida’s ‘New Capitalism’ Japan’s New Political-Economic Doctrine?

Lim Tai Wei

Fumio Kishida’s economic policies seek to integrate and refine aspects of Abenomics laid down by Shinzo Abe. These policies should help project Japan’s image as a benign power and reinvigorate its investments in Southeast Asia.

Japan Japan-Southeast Asia Relations

23 Nov 2021

Japan’s Foreign Policy Direction under Kishida

John D. Ciorciari

New Japanese premier Fumio Kishida’s likely continuation of quiet economic, diplomatic and security investment in the region aligns well with Southeast Asian preferences.

Indo-Pacific Japan Japan-Southeast Asia Relations