A significant event in the formation of both Japan’s postwar foreign policy and the situation in the critically important Southeast Asian subregion was Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi’s tour to Indonesia and the Philippines in early May. Japan is once again “moving southwest.” It should be emphasized once again that one of the central components of […]

Following its landslide victory in the February 8 election, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), in close cooperation with the Ishin no Kai party, is promoting initiatives to increase Japan’s military capabilities. At first glance, nothing has changed after the Diet elections, and the LDP continues to dominate politics. While this is largely true, several details […]

The four most militarily powerful Muslim-majority nations—Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Pakistan, and Egypt—are aligning based on strategic calculation rather than religious affinity. This development signals the emergence of a weaker America in the Middle East and a reordering of the great-power competition between the U.S. and China. Barry Buzan asserts that security is inherently regional, as […]