Webinar: Japan’s Indo-Pacific Strategy

Professor Yoichiro Sato, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University.

Organised by AIIA National Office.

The US-Japan alliance has assured connectivity between the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean, guaranteeing Japan’s economic survival, while protecting its territorial integrity against external threats. The region, however, faces a dynamic transformation as the global strategic environment changes. The relative weight of the United States in the world economy has declined, and so has its relative weight in the trade portfolio of Asian countries, including Japan. US military dominance is gradually eroding, yet there is no clear successor. The uncertain transition necessitates that Japan’s strategy includes hedges. What does Japan’s hedging strategy looks like? Why is Japan adopting such a strategy (especially as opposed to bandwagoning with the United States)? What are the implications for the US-centred alliance system in the Indo-Pacific region? Professor Yoichiro Sato will adopt a broad perspective to analyse Japan’s Indo-Pacific strategy. 

Professor Yoichiro Sato holds a BA (Law) from Keio University, MA (International Studies) from University of South Carolina, and Ph.D (Political Science) from University of Hawaii, and is currently Dean of International Cooperation and Research at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University. Previously, he has also taught at the U.S. Department of Defense’s Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies and Auckland University (New Zealand).  His more than ten published books include The U.S.-Japan Security Alliance (co-edited with Takashi Inoguchi and G. John Ikenberry, Palgrave, 2011), Regional Institutions, Geopolitics and Economics in the Asia Pacific (co-edited with Steve Rothman and Utpal Vyas, Routledge, 2017), and Re-Rising Japan (co-edited with Hidekazu Sakai, Peter Lang, 2017). His commentaries have appeared in global media, including Time, Newsweek, Al Jazeera, Agence Presse Francais, Nikkei Asian Review, Japan Times, Canberra Times, New Zealand Herald, Bangkok Post, Jakarta Post, Khmer Times, etc.

If you regsitered after 5:30pm AEST and you have not received an email, you may be able to access the event through this link, or with the Zoom Webinar ID:88950247065. The password is 106508. You may not be guaranteed entry if you have not registered, however.

AIIA members may be selected to ask interactive questions via video. All registrants may type questions via the moderated Q&A text feed. To join your branch of the AIIA, click here. You must have joined 48 hours prior to the event to register as an AIIA member.

Co-hosted by Australian Institute of International Affairs National Office and Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University