Japan's Security Strategy in the Indo-Pacific: Denial, Resilience and Networking

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As 2022 came to a close, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida released three strategic documents to address security challenges in the region – the National Security Strategy, the National Defense Strategy, and the Defense Buildup Program. Notably, China is described as the greatest strategic challenge for Japan along with North Korea and Russia. What does this mean in practice? How does the document articulate priority areas for Japan for its military capabilities, diplomacy, and how it decides to orient its resources for its own security? What does this mean for Japan-U.S. relations as well their partners and neighbors?

Join us for a conversation led by Rorry Daniels, Managing Director of the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI), with former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs and ASPI Vice President Daniel Russel, and special guest, Professor Ken Jimbo, who has served as Special Advisor to Japan's Minister of Defense (2020) and as a Senior Advisor in Japan’s National Security Secretariat (2018-2020).

Speakers

Ken Jimbo is Managing Director (Representative Director) at the International House of Japan and President of the Asia Pacific Initiative. He is also concurrently serving as professor at the Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University. He served as a Special Advisor to Japan's Minister of Defense (2020) and as a Senior Advisor at Japan's National Security Secretariat (2018-20). His main research fields are in International Security, Japan-US Security Relations, Japanese Foreign and Defense Policy, Multilateral Security in Asia-Pacific, and Regionalism in East Asia. He has been a policy advisor for various Japanese governmental commissions and research groups including for the National Security Secretariat, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Daniel Russel is Vice President for International Security and Diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI). Previously he served as a Diplomat-in-Residence and Senior Fellow with ASPI for a one year term. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service at the U.S. Department of State, he most recently served as the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. He served at the White House as Special Assistant to the President and National Security Council Senior Director for Asian Affairs, where he helped formulate President Obama’s strategic rebalance to the Asia Pacific region, including efforts to strengthen alliances, deepen U.S. engagement with multilateral organizations, and expand cooperation with emerging powers in the region. Among many roles at the Department of State, he served as Director of the Office of Japanese Affairs and U.S. Consul General in Osaka-Kobe.

Rorry Daniels (moderator) is the Managing Director of Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI), where she leads and oversees strategy and operations for ASPI's projects on security, climate change and trade throughout Asia. She was previously with the National Committee on American Foreign Policy where she managed the organization's Track II and research portfolio on Asia security issues, with a particular focus on cross-Taiwan Strait relations, U.S.-China relations, and the North Korean nuclear program. Her most recent research project audited the U.S.-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue to evaluate its process and outcomes.