TNI Interview: Japan's Strategic Outlook Explained

March 5, 2015 Topic: Security

TNI Interview: Japan's Strategic Outlook Explained

TNI's Jacob Heilbrunn sits down with Tokyo University's Akio Takahara.

TNI’s Editor, Jacob Heilbrunn, speaks with Professor Akio Takahara of the University of Tokyo about China and Japan’s tense relations, as well as Abe’s reputation and public image. Takahara highlighted the security concerns of Japan with respect to China, especially in terms of the island disputes. He further discussed Abe’s actions and how the outside world tends to have a “lopsided view” of the Japanese prime minister. He touched on the perception of Japanese nationalism, U.S.-Japanese relations, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the future of the Japanese economy—and had something interesting to say about North Korea.

Image: Flickr/President of the European Council