Japan Memo – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Technical and general information from the podcast's RSS feed.

Japan Memo

The International Institute for Strategic Studies

News

Business

News

Frequency: 1 episode/32d. Total Eps: 46

The Japan Memo is a monthly podcast series that analyses why Japan matters in today’s regional and global geopolitical landscape. In each episode, Robert Ward of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Japan Chair Programme, will bring in strategists, experts and practitioners from around the world to examine how Japan is using its diplomatic, economic and military tools to achieve its strategic goals, and what lessons it offers to other countries.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Read moreCollapse

Site

RSS

Apple

Recent rankings

Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.

Apple Podcasts

🇫🇷 France - politics
11/06/2025
#89
🇫🇷 France - politics
01/05/2025
#83
🇫🇷 France - politics
27/03/2025
#84
🇫🇷 France - politics
26/03/2025
#88

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Links found in episode descriptions and other podcasts that share them.

See all

https://www.iiss.org/
4 shares
https://www.iiss.org/podcasts/japan-memo/2024/02/japans-relationship-with-asean/
2 shares
https://wwnorton.com/books/Embracing-Defeat/
2 shares

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25225.The_Samurai
1 share

RSS feed quality and score

Technical evaluation of the podcast's RSS feed quality and structure.

See all

RSS feed quality

Good

Score global : 89%

Publication history

Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.

Year

Latest published episodes

Recent episodes with titles, durations, and descriptions.

See all

Japan’s role in Indo-Pacific minilateralism

Season 5 · Episode 3

Friday, April 11, 2025 • Duration 54:37

Robert Ward hosts Dr Bart Gaens, Senior Research Fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs and Japan Chair at the International Centre for Defence and Security, Tatsumi Yuki, Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center, and Dr Alice Dell’Era, Assistant Professor at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. They discuss Japan’s role in Indo-Pacific minilateralism.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Read moreCollapse

Japan’s challenges amid growing cooperation between Russia and China with Professor Takahara Akio, Dr Elizabeth Wishnick and Dr Catherine Jones

Season 5 · Episode 2

Tuesday, March 4, 2025 • Duration 47:40

Robert Ward hosts Professor Takahara Akio, Emeritus Professor of The University of Tokyo, Dr Elizabeth Wishnick, Senior Research Scientist at the Centre for Naval Analyses (CNA) and Dr Catherine Jones, a Lecturer at the University of St Andrews, to explore Japan’s challenges amid growing cooperation between Russia and China.

 Robert, Akio, Elizabeth and Catherine discuss:  

The recent development of the Russia-China strategic partnership in the Ukraine war
The limitations of the Sino-Russian relationship and the potential overlap of their interests
Japan’s security, economy and energy challenges amid growing Sino-Russian aligment

The following books are recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:  

Takahara Akio and et al., Japan–China Relations in the Modern Era, (Abingdon: Routledge, 2017), 250pp.
Takahara Akio and et al., Nicchū kankei 2001-2022 [Japan-China Relations 2001-2022], (Tokyo: The University of Tokyo Press, 2023), 432pp.
Charles E. Ziegler, Russia in the Pacific: The Quest for Great Power Recognition, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2024), 296pp.
Gaye Christoffersen, Russia in the Indo-Pacific: New Approaches to Russian Foreign Policy, (Abingdon: Routledge, 2022), 298pp.
Endo Shusaku, Chinmoku [Silence], (Tokyo: Shinchosha, 1981), 320pp.
Endo Shusaku, The Samurai, (Tokyo: Shinchosha, 1986), 520pp.

We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on your podcast platform of choice. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at japanchair@iiss.org. 

Date recorded: 17 February 2025  

Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.  

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Read moreCollapse

Japan and North Korea with Professor Chris Hughes, Dr Naoko Aoki and Joseph Dempsey

Season 4 · Episode 4

Tuesday, May 14, 2024 • Duration 45:17

Robert Ward hosts Chris Hughes, Professor of International Politics and Japanese Studies at the University of Warwick, Dr Naoko Aoki , Associate Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation, and Joseph Dempsey, Research Associate for Defence and Military Analysis at the IISS.

Robert, Chris, Naoko and Joseph discuss Japan and North Korea:

Japan’s diplomatic strategy towards North Korea
North Korea’s strategy for its advancing missile and nuclear capabilities
The development of Japan’s counterstrike capabilities and the challenges they face
Implications for Japan of the strategic cooperation between North Korea, China and Russia

We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on your podcast platform of choice. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at japanchair@iiss.org or visit our website The International Institute for Strategic Studies (iiss.org)

Date recorded: 26 April 2024

Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Read moreCollapse

Japan’s maritime security policy in the Indo-Pacific with Professor Alessio Patalano, Veerle Nouwens and Nick Childs

Season 4 · Episode 3

Tuesday, April 16, 2024 • Duration 56:38

Robert Ward hosts Alessio Patalano, Professor of War & Strategy in East Asia at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, Veerle Nouwens, the Executive Director of IISS-Asia, and Nick Childs, the IISS Senior Fellow for Naval Forces and Maritime Security.

Robert, Alessio, Veerle, and Nick discuss Japan’s maritime security policy in the Indo-Pacific.

Topics discussed include:

Japan’s positioning of maritime security policy in relation to other domains;
China’s perspective on Japan’s growing maritime capabilities;
Japan’s strategic navigation between different layers of partnerships;
The impact of Trump’s possible re-election on Japan’s maritime security policy.

We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on your podcast platform of choice. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at japanchair@iiss.org.

Date recorded: 04 April 2024

Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Read moreCollapse

Japan and the Russia-Ukraine War with Professor Higashino Atsuko, Professor James D.J. Brown and Dr Nigel Gould-Davies

Season 4 · Episode 2

Thursday, March 14, 2024 • Duration 49:47

In the second episode of Japan Memo season 4, Robert Ward hosts Higashino Atsuko, a Professor at the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Tsukuba, James Brown, a Professor of political science at Temple University, Japan campus, and Dr Nigel Gould-Davies, the IISS Senior Fellow for Russia and Eurasia. Robert, Atsuko, James and Nigel discuss Japan and the Russia-Ukraine war.

Topics discussed include:

Japan’s response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine over the past two years;
Japan's possible military aid to Ukraine amid growing aid fatigue among Western allies;
Japan’s unflagging support for post-war rebuilding to Ukraine in the wake of the bilateral reconstruction conference in February 2024;
Japan’s defence and energy policy amid rising security and geopolitical tensions with Russia

The following books are recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:

Kanji Akagi, Kokusaianzenhoshou ga wakeru gaidobuku, (Japan Association for International Security, 2024), 288 pp.
Mazower Mark, Dark Continent: Europe’s Twentieth Century, (Penguin Group, 1999), 512 pp.
Muminov Sherzod, Eleven Winters of Discontent: The Siberian Internment and the Making of a New Japan, (Harvard University Press, 2022), 384 pp.
Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Rashomon, (KADOKAWA, 1950)

We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at japanchair@iiss.org.

Date of Recording: 1 March 2024

Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.

Japan’s relationship with ASEAN with Professor Sato Yoichiro, Aaron Connelly and Evan Laksmana

Season 4 · Episode 1

Monday, February 19, 2024 • Duration 42:41

Robert, Professor Sato, Aaron, and Evan discuss Japan’s relationship with ASEAN.

Topics discussed include:

Japan’s shifting diplomatic and economic relationship with ASEAN amid the rapid growth of ASEAN countries;
Japan-ASEAN security relationship in the increasingly complicated geopolitical landscape in the region;
Japan’s defence policy in ASEAN amid rising competition between the US and China;
ASEAN’s policy on navigating the great powers competition in the region.

The episode's transcript can be found on https://www.iiss.org/podcasts/japan-memo/2024/02/japans-relationship-with-asean/

The following books are recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:

Wilhelm Vosse (ed.) and Paul Midford (ed.), Japan's new security partnerships: Beyond the security alliance, (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2018), 264 pp.
Sakai Hidekazu (ed.) and Sato Yoichiro (ed.), Re-rising Japan: Its Strategic Power in International Relations, (New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2018), 264 pp.
Danny Orbach, Curse on This Country: The Rebellious Army of Imperial Japan, (New York: Cornell University Press, 2017), 384 pp.
Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino, Japan’s Effectiveness as a Geo-Economic Actor: Navigating Great-Power Competition, (London: Routledge, 2022), 168 pp.
Gerald L Curtis, The Logic of Japanese Politics: Leaders, Institutions, and the Limits of Change, (New York: Columbia University Press, 1999), 336 pp.

We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at .

Abe’s Speeches and Grand Strategy with Professor Taniguchi Tomohiko

Season 3 · Episode 12

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 • Duration 47:17

In the twelfth episode of Japan Memo Season 3, Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino host Professor Taniguchi Tomohiko, a Visiting Professor at Takushoku University's Institute of World Studies and a Senior Fellow at the Alliance of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies and former Special Advisor to Prime Minister Abe's Cabinet and also as a Councillor in the Cabinet Secretariat (April 2013 to September 2020), where he contributed to crafting foreign policy speeches for Prime Minister Abe.

Robert, Yuka, and Professor Taniguchi discuss Abe’s Grand Strategy, especially focusing on his landmark speeches.

Topics discussed include:

Role of diplomatic speechwriter under the Abe administration

Former Prime Minister Abe’s grand strategy and diplomatic legacies

Significance of former Prime Minister Abe’s diplomatic speeches

Abe administration’s legacies in Japan’s foreign and defence policies

The following individuals are recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:

Crown Prince Naruhito, translated by Sir Hugh Cortazzi, The Thames and I: A Memoir by Prince Naruhito of Two Years at Oxford (Folkestone: Renaissance Books Ltd, 2019)

Geoffrey Bownas, Japanese Journeys: Writings and Reflections: Writings and Recollections (Epsom: Global Oriental; Illustrated edition, 2005)

Fukuzawa Yukichi, The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa (Tokyo: Library of Japan, 2000)

Ian Buruma, A Tokyo Romance (London: Atlantic Books, 2019)

Christopher Ross, Mishima's Sword: Travels in Search of a Samurai Legend (London: Fourth Estate Ltd. 2006)

Japan’s relationship with the Middle East with Professor Tanaka Koichiro and Hasan Alhasan

Season 3 · Episode 11

Thursday, November 23, 2023 • Duration 39:32

In the eleventh episode of Japan Memo Season 3, Robert Ward and Togashi Mariko host Professor Tanaka Koichiro, a professor at the Graduate School of Media and Governance at Keio University, and Dr Hasan Alhasan, Research Fellow for Middle East Policy at the IISS.

Robert, Mariko, Professor Tanaka, and Hasan discuss Japan’s relationship with the Middle East. Topics discussed include:

Japan’s key strategic interests including energy security in the Middle East.
Japan’s standpoint and communication strategy regarding the Israel and Hamas conflict.
Geopolitical and economic motivations of great powers in the Middle East.
The perspectives of Gulf countries towards great-power geopolitics in the Middle East.
The outlook for Japan’s relationship with the Middle East.

The following individuals are recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:

Mohammed Jaber Al-Ansari, a prominent Bahraini philosopher and political thinker who is fascinated by the Japanese experience of being able to rise as a global industrial powerhouse.
Dr Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary, an associate professor of economics at Tokai University and a vice president and co-founder of the International Society for Energy Transition Studies (ISETS).

We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice.

Date of Recording: 09 November 2023

Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Japan’s policy towards Grey-Zone activities in the Indo-Pacific with Professor Kotani Tetsuo and Lynn Kuok

Season 3 · Episode 10

Monday, October 16, 2023 • Duration 29:04

In the tenth episode of Japan Memo Season 3, Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino host Professor Kotani Tetsuo, a professor of global studies at Meikai University and a senior fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs; and Dr Lynn Kuok, Shangri-La Dialogue Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific Security at the IISS.

Robert, Yuka, Tetsuo, and Lynn discuss Japan’s response towards expanding grey-zone situations in the Indo-Pacific region.

Topics discussed include:

The historical background of grey-zone activity and its definition.
The tactics and objectives of Chinese grey-zone activity in the East and the South China Seas.
Japan’s perspective and policy on Chinese grey-zone coercion in the Indo-Pacific region.
The issue facing Japan when dealing with Chinese grey-zone tactics.
The future possibilities of grey-zone escalation and the possible measures taken by regional and international organisations.

The following literature is recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:

Takahashi Sugio, Nippon de Gunji o Kataru To Iu Koto— Gunji Bunseki Nyūmon [Talking about the military in Japan: an introduction to military analysis] (CHUOKORON-SHINSHA, 2023)

We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice.

Date of Recording: 06 October 2023

Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Japan and the Global South with Ambassador Chinoy and Ambassador Ishii

Season 3 · Episode 9

Tuesday, September 5, 2023 • Duration 47:16

In the ninth episode of Japan Memo season 3, Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino host Ambassador Sujan Chinoy, the Director General of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) in New Delhi who served as the Indian ambassador to Japan from 2015 to 2018; and Ambassador Masafumi Ishii, a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Gakushuin University who was the Japanese ambassador to Indonesia from 2017 to 2020.

Robert, Yuka, Ambassador Chinoy and Ambassador Ishii discuss Japan’s relationship with the Global South countries to navigate the complex international security and geo-economic environment amid Russia’s War in Ukraine and the US-China great power competition. The guests provide their insights on the evolving significance of the Global South, Japanese policies towards India and Indonesia, and the opportunities and challenges looking ahead.

Topics discussed include:

The growing importance of the Global South in international affairs;
Japan’s engagement with ASEAN countries to deal with the Russian and Chinese challenges to rules-based international order;
The political motivation of Japan for engaging with India and Indonesia to tackle global security issues;
Potential role of Japan as a bridge between the West and the Global South as the chair of this year’s G7; and
Speaker perspectives on the opportunities and challenges in the future cooperation between Japan and the Global South.

The following literature is recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:

Edwin O. Reischauer, Japan, The Story of a Nation, (Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1988)
Ruth Benedict, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, (Indianapolis: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1946)

We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice.

Japan Memo – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Japan Memo – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other28

Goodreads1

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other28

Goodreads1