Alliance Politics in an Age of Great Power Rivalry: Implications for the U.S.-Japan Alliance

YCAPS and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) are thrilled to announce our next event in Fussa. This event will feature Dr. Takuya Matsuda, who will lead us in a discussion about Alliance Politics in an Age of Great Power Rivalry. We will also be joined by Mr. James Angelus of ISIC Japan who has kindly offered to give several remarks after Dr. Matsuda's presentation.

From Europe to East Asia, the U.S. alliance system has been going through major transformation in the past few years. In order to reconcile the challenges for great power rivalry and eroding military dominance, the creation of military power and strategy has increasingly become the central concern in alliance politics. The U.S.-Japan alliance is no exception. Japan unveiled three new security documents in December 2022, including the nation’s first National Defense Strategy that defines Tokyo’s security policy for the coming decade. The seminar will unpack the new documents to illustrate how they focus on enhancing the overall military effectiveness of the alliance by pursuing an integrated and resilient force structure between the two nations. Moreover, it illuminates how Japan’s updated security policy has broader implications on debates over the role of alliances in U.S. grand strategy while also touching upon some of the potential challenges in its implementation.

*Please kindly note that this is an in-person event taking place in Fussa, Tokyo. It will not be streamed online.

**Upcoming Seminar Series**
・June 9 (Fri.) @Naha, Okinawa
"Okinawa-Taiwan Relations"

・June 21 (Wed.) @ Yokosuka, Kanagawa
"Shaping and Operationalizing Joint Strategies and Readiness: Challenges for Japan’s Defense Planning"

・June 28 (Wed)  @Misawa, Aomori
"History and Foundations of China-Japan relations"  

https://www.ycaps.org/spf-fussa-may-2023