Japan

KJ analysis on Japan

• The Tokyo Tightening: Japan’s Pivot and the End of Global Subsidies

  Japan's departure from zero-interest rates is not merely a domestic adjustment. It is a structural shock that removes the floor from Western debt markets, forcing a painful re-pricing of global risk.

• The Northern Pivot: Why Japan Cannot Quit Russian Gas

  Despite the G7’s unified front against Moscow, Tokyo maintains a quiet, structural dependency on Russian energy projects. This strategic fracture reveals the limits of ideological alliances when confronted with the brutal realities of island geography.

• Is Iran pulling Japan away from the US?

  The recent revival of Iran-Japan relations not a surprise Japan and Iran’s recent boost and revival in ties is not without basis and did not come as a shock, as the 2 nations have maintained positive relations since 1979 and have worked to strengthen relations frequently. Despite this, Japan’s close relation and military reliance on the US has kept ties with Iran limited. Hence, a recent increase in relations with Iran has shown that Iran may finally be pulling Japan away from full reliance on the US as in June Abe became the first sitting Japanese prime minister to visit Iran in 40 years. As far as possible, Abe would like to avoid participating in a coalition that could negatively affect Japan’s relations with Iran. Indeed, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced a visit to Japan, which will coincide with the latter’s decision on whether to deploy SDF vessels to the Middle East. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will visit Japan on Dec. 20-21 and will meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as Japan looks to help ease tensions in the Middle East, the Japanese government’s chief spokesman said on Tuesday. “Our country will persistently continue to support diplomatic efforts in cooperation with the United States, Iran and various other related countries aimed at easing tensions in the Middle East,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference. Mentioning Iran alongside the US in diplomatic terms shows a shift towards Iran from Japan’s side, as in the last decades Japan’s alliance with the US has been stronger than any other. Subscribe to read the full article We wish we didn't have to do this, but only paid subscribers can read the full article, Unlike other publishers, we are not the beneficiaries of State funds and are entirely dependent on our supporters to keep KJ Vids functioning. Please subscribe to read the rest of the article. The First 1,000 subscribers will receive a 50% lifetime discount to our content. - Access over 500 videos explaining global politics - Full access to all articles - Vote on future video topics - Secure Questions for Video Q&As Sign Up - https://www.kjreports.com/product/lifetimediscount/

• China sees weakened US ties with Japan and South Korea as a perfect opportunity:

  The US needs a united South Korea and Japan For a long time, the US has enacted strong relations with South Korea and Japan, cooperating economically and militarily, in order to act as a counter-force to China in the region. The US realises that China’s geopolitical and economic strength in the region is currently rapidly increasing, and therefore the trade conflict between Japan and South Korea has come at the worst possible time in their view. In September, South Korea lodged a formal complaint to the WTO over Japan’s trade restrictions but announced they will halt dispute consultations as long as bilateral talks continue, and rocky diplomatic exchanges persisted last month as South Korea’s chief negotiator Chung Hae-Kwan spoke to reporters about ending talks altogether, saying, “We will not have talks for the sake of talks.” This trade dispute, which has been going on for several months, has worried the US, as for them, a disunited Japan and South Korea gives a clear advantage to China’s regional influence. The US has hence put huge pressure on both parties to resolve the conflict, and it appears to have worked in some cases. Under intense pressure from the United States, South Korea reversed itself at the last minute Friday and extended an intelligence-sharing pact with Japan, a sign that the Seoul government wanted to halt fraying relations with the two countries. Taken together, both developments suggested that President Moon Jae-in of South Korea was looking for ways to de-escalate underlying historical tensions, which have caused one of the most serious rifts between the two countries since they normalized relations 54 years ago. The moves came on the eve of a Group of 20 meetings of foreign ministers in Nagoya, Japan, appearing to set the tone for improvement in relations with the United States and Japan that have been increasingly strained. There appear to be signs of easing tensions, but the US will hope to close this dispute fast if it wants to reassert itself and limit China’s rise. China intends to take advantage of weakened US influence As highlighted in point one, over the past months, relations between both South Korea and Japan, and the US have been strained, not solely because of the trade dispute between the 2 Asian nations, but also as a result of the pressure, the US has been putting on them to maintain its influence. For instance when the US were angered over an impasse with South Korea in a separate dispute over the costs of maintaining American troops in the country as a deterrent to North Korea. This weakened relation is seen as an opportunity to China, who appear to intend to strengthen relations with both South Korea and Japan, and hence enact an influence of their own. “The world is now full of various uncertainties and unilateralism, as well as bullying and power politics that have been harming global peace and stability and threatening the right to develop our own countries,” Wang told a meeting of business leaders and former officials on Thursday. It was Wang’s first visit to South Korea in four years and comes as Beijing looks to boost ties with its neighbours. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to visit China later this month, and the Kyodo news agency reported that he was expected to meet Xi and take part in a three-way summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Sichuan province. It would be the fourth meeting between Xi and Abe since the latter’s visit to Beijing last October. “China has been intensifying a ‘new type of neighbourhood diplomacy’ as a way to offset the American influence in the region, amid their deepening power rivalry,” said Lee Seong-Hyon from the Sejong Institute in Seoul, also adding that China is clearly doing this for its own interests and “not for the sake of the neighbours.” Subscribe to read the full article We wish we didn't have to do this, but only paid subscribers can read the full article, Unlike other publishers, we are not the beneficiaries of State funds and are entirely dependent on our supporters to keep KJ Vids functioning. Please subscribe to read the rest of the article. The First 1,000 subscribers will receive a 50% lifetime discount to our content. - Access over 500 videos explaining global politics - Full access to all articles - Vote on future video topics - Secure Questions for Video Q&As Sign Up - https://www.kjreports.com/product/lifetimediscount/

• Eurasia’s Great Game: India, Japan and Europe play to Putin’s needs
• Japan is standing up to China: 5 Geopolitical Effects You Need to Know

  1. Japan taking on China in Africa Japan has appeared to see the opportunity in investing in Africa and has followed China’s example, possibly challenging them. The extent of this will officially be seen at the end of August when Japan will host the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Yokohama. The conference is the catalyst for Japan’s development efforts on the continent and is co-organised with a number of international partners, including the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank, and the African Union Commission. It remains to be seen how China will respond, but their interests in Africa could feel to be threatened. 2. Will Japan help the US in closing its missile gap with China? Japan could also help the US in its military challenge to China, as the US has said it would turn to Japan for support. “Instead of a Eurocentric perspective on INF that seeks to prioritise Europe’s strategic stability, we need to view this in a way that also acknowledges the shifting conventional military balance in Asia,” said Eric Sayers, a former special assistant to then-Adm. Harry Harris, former chief of the U.S. Pacific Command. Should Japan abide, it would be a clear sign of standing up to China and would increase tensions in the region. Subscribe to unlock the other 3 Points We wish we didn't have to do this, but only paid subscribers can read the full article, Unlike other publishers, we are not the beneficiaries of State funds and are entirely dependent on our supporters to keep KJ Vids functioning. Please subscribe to read the rest of the article. The First 1,000 subscribers will receive a 50% lifetime discount to our content. - Access over 500 videos explaining global politics - Full access to all articles - Vote on future video topics - Secure Questions for Video Q&As Sign Up - https://www.kjreports.com/product/lifetimediscount/

• The Japan-South Korea trade war: 5 geopolitical points you need to know
• Russia sparks tensions with South Korea and Japan