East Asia Insights
East Asia Insights is an occasional policy brief that was launched by JCIE in 2006 in order to share a Japanese perspective on critical issues and challenges facing the region. The briefs are authored by Hitoshi Tanaka, a senior fellow at JCIE and chairman of the Institute for International Strategy at the Japan Research Institute. He previously served as Japan’s deputy minister for foreign affairs. Opinions expressed in East Asia Insights are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position or views of JCIE.
Prospects for Japan's Domestic Politics and Implications for Its Foreign Policy
July 2008
Hitoshi Tanaka explores the potential impact of a change in government. How will events play out in Japan after the July 2007 election, and what kind of regional and global role will Japan be able to…
A Japanese Perspective on the China Question
May 2008
This issue presents a Japanese perspective on “The China Question” and offers a series of policy prescriptions about how Japan should engage its increasingly powerful neighbor in the years ahead.
Defining Normalcy: The Future Course of Japan's Foreign Policy
January 2008
This issue addresses the widespread misconceptions of what is “normal” for Japan, and the future of Japanese foreign policy, which aims to reconcile the need for leaders to actively pursue the nationa…
A Japanese Perspective on US Policy toward East Asia
November 2007
This issue contributes a series of suggestion, from the Japanese perspective, on how the United States can most effectively remain engaged and ensure the region’s continued peace and prosperity.
Japanese Foreign Policy Under Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda
October 2007
This issue addresses several questions about Fukuda’s election and its implications for Japan’s foreign policy, as Fukuda is likely to adopt a more subtle approach to foreign affairs.
Japan's Policy Agenda for East Asia
August 2007
This issue discusses the test which Japanese foreign policy faces as the international system comes to be defined by multipolarity and multilateralism, and Japan’s policy proposals through which they…
Five Myths about Dealing with North Korea: A Japanese Perspective
June 2007
This issue discusses the validity of the oft-heard critiques of the February Joint Statement, which was created after North Korea conducted a series of missile tests in July, in addition to its first-…
East Asia Community Building: Toward an East Asia Security Forum
April 2007
This issue recommends the creation of an “East Asia Security Forum” in order to enhance cooperation between states in a wider range of areas would greatly facilitate the realization of a more cooperat…
Nationalistic Sentiments in Japan and their Foreign Policy Implications
January 2007
Foreign observers had noticed an increase in Japanese nationalism recently; this growing prominence of public sentiment in Japan is rooted in frustration over dual gaps, one between Japan’s security p…
Japan's Perspective on the Korean Peninsula
June 2006
This issue discusses the situation on the Korean peninsula, where North Korea’s suspected nuclear weapons program, its missile program, and criminal misconduct act as a threat to the stability in Japa…