Japan Lecture: Japan‘s New Security Policy in a Transformative World

We are honored to welcome Prof. Dr. Hiroshi Nakanishi at the University of Zurich.

 

 

Prof. Dr. Hiroshi Nakanishi is a political scientist at the Graduate School of Government, Kyoto University. He specializes in international history of the twentieth century international relations methodology and Japanese foreign and security policy. He published widely on the international affairs and was awarded the fourth Yomiuri-Yoshino Sakuzo prize. English publication include chapters in «The Diplomatic History of Postwar Japan» (Routledge, 2011) and «From Meiji to Reiwa Modern Japan’s Place» (Springer 2023). During 2014-16 he served as President of the Japan Association of International Relations and in 2022 he served for two governmental commissions as member of the Advisory Panel to Comprehensively Discuss Defense Capabilities as National Strength of the Cabinet Office and as chairperson of the Advisory Panel on the revision of Development Cooperation Charter of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which led to the National Security Strategy in 2022 and Development Cooperation Charter in 2023.

 

The lecture will introduce the recent Japanese initiative in security policies in the transforming world and discuss the challenges Japan faces. In 2022 Japanese government updated the National Security Strategy and related documents. The papers mark arguably the most significant changes of Japanese foreign and security policy in decades. Given the heightened tensions both in the region and globally Japan is posed to taking greater risks to uphold the existing rule-based international order. This stance is largely welcomed by the international society the Western advanced countries in particular but involves increasing burden on the aging Japanese society. The recent announcement of the PM Kishida‘s resignation augurs the rocky road ahead for the implementation of the daring policies. Cooperation and mutual understanding among the like-minded countries are sorely needed.