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Japan’s Foreign Policy Evolution During the Contemporary Period: Navigating Economic Stagnation and Security Threats in an Increasingly Multipolar World (1990-2024)

Author: Gerhard van Niekerk This is the fourth and final edition to a four-part series that discusses Japan’s fascinating evolution as a great power in East Asia. This series lays out the key themes in Japan’s foreign policy evolution from the Meiji Restoration, and the birth of modern Imperial Japan, to Japan’s contemporary pacifist role…

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Ambassador of Japan Gives Lecture at SU

Author: Daniel Bugan The cooperative relationship between Japan and South Africa came under the spotlight during a lecture by His Excellency Mr Shigeru Ushio, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to South Africa, Eswatini and Lesotho. The lecture was hosted by Stellenbosch University’s Japan Centre on 18 October 2024. In his presentation entitled “Japanese Diplomacy…

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Japan’s Foreign Policy Evolution During the Postwar Contemporary Period: Rising Phoenix and Geopolitical Realignment during the Cold War (1945-1990)

Author: Gerhard van Niekerk This is the third edition to a four-part series that discusses Japan’s fascinating evolution as a great power in East Asia. This series will lay out the key themes in Japan’s foreign policy evolution from the Meiji Restoration, and the birth of modern Imperial Japan, to Japan’s contemporary pacifist role in…

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Japan’s Foreign Policy Evolution During the Two World Wars: The Contrasting Approaches of the Taishō and Shōwa Governments (1912-1945)

Author: Gerhard van Niekerk This is the second edition to a four-part series that discusses Japan’s fascinating evolution as a great power in East Asia. This series will lay out the key themes in Japan’s foreign policy evolution from the Meiji Restoration, and the birth of modern Imperial Japan, to Japan’s contemporary pacifist role in…

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The Japan-US Summit Highlights Changing Security Realities

Author: Cüneyt Aksoy On 10 April 2024, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made an official state visit to the United States (US). Ahead of the visit and the summit meeting with US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Kishida, in an interview, said that the geopolitical tensions have pushed the world to a “historical turning point”.[1]…

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Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific Vision: Global Commerce, Maritime Security and Implications for Africa

Author: Gerhard van Niekerk This article draws on research presented at a Research Forum on Japanese Industry and Development in Africa, organised by Stellenbosch University Japan Centre and made possible by support by the Toshiba International Foundation. The virtual forum, held on the 26th and 29th of January 2024, focused on the role of Japanese…

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Japan and the Geopolitics of Space Travel

Earth from Space – Japan in AutumnImage captured from the European Space Agency’s Copernicus-Sentinel 3 mission in November 2023(Source: Wikimedia Commons) The geopolitics of space This article follows on an earlier discussion of the key milestones in Japan’s development of its space programme[i] and considers the wider geopolitical context within which this programme is pursued…

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Interview: Dr. Shinichi KITAOKA

Author: Sue Segar Japan has achieved modernisation and industrialisation from the 19th to the 20th century and the challenges it faced were similar to those currently faced by developing countries. For this reason, Japan –the world’s first country to modernise from a non-Western background – has much to offer in terms of its experience and lessons to…

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The Hiroshima AI Process: Japan’s Role in Shaping Global AI Governance

Author: Inge Odendaal In the past year, the debate over artificial intelligence (AI) has shifted from whether to regulate[1] it to how to regulate it effectively. Governments worldwide are grappling with the challenge of establishing regulations that can keep pace with the rapid developments in AI, respect state sovereignty, and establish international norms and practices.…

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Japan-Türkiye Relations: A Century of Friendship

Author: Cüneyt Aksoy Japan and Türkiye, seemingly very distant countries geographically, share a deeply rooted history of cultural, economic, and diplomatic relations that have advanced over the years. Although Turkish-Japanese relations have been through many phases throughout different periods and both nations’ various political iterations, it carries a friendly sentimentality reinforced with historic rescues, solidarity,…