Tokyo Report

Japan has been pushing for Quad efforts to match its own vaccine diplomacy: more inclusive, less strategic.

Recent developments coming out of Seoul have presented opportunities for Tokyo to explore means of cooperation.

With full elections due by this fall, the opposition's sweep of Sunday's by-elections is a warning sign for Prime Minister Suga and the LDP.

Japan has been criticized for seeming inaction following the coup and ensuring crackdown. But there are hints Tokyo is taking action behind the scenes.

With both countries facing serious challenges at home, their leaders remained committed to building a personal rapport.

The impact of Hideki Matsuyama’s victory at the 2021 Masters Golf Tournament could be diminished by barriers to entry and ongoing stereotypes about Asian athletes. 

Both countries have been criticized as climate change laggards. The Biden and Suga administrations are looking to change that perception.

China and South Korea have reacted strongly to the Japanese government’s decision to release contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear reactor.

If both leaders play their cards right, ties between Tokyo and Washington could anchor a peaceful and rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific for years to come.

One way of looking at the 2+2 meeting is that a selection of items for future consideration was put on the table. What becomes of these items going forward is now the critical question.

A series of safety breaches compounds fears that TEPCO has failed to learn from the Fukushima nuclear disaster in its bid to restart a Niigata nuclear power plant.