Skip to main content
The Interpreter

Interpreter - Menu Links

  • Articles
  • Debates
  • Contributors
  • About

Published daily by the Lowy Institute

  • 27 Oct 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australia
    • China
    • India
    • Japan
    • European Union

    AUKUS? Quad? FOIP? A fragmented approach cannot counter China

    Yatharth Kachiar , Priya Vijaykumar Poojary
    Only a coherent policy for the Indo-Pacific will work. The West needs to offer a strong economic balance to Beijing.
  • 7 Oct 2021
    • Global Economy
    • United States
    • Australia
    • China
    • Japan

    Economic diplomacy: Japan’s new PM joins the (supply) chain gang

    Greg Earl
    New research shows Australia may be an export diversification role model.
  • 30 Sep 2021
    • Japan

    Meet Japan’s new PM

    Purnendra Jain
    Asia’s oldest democracy looks for a steady hand on the tiller in a time of regional flux.
  • 14 Sep 2021
    • Japan

    Tokyo2020+1 wraps up as Japan’s next race begins

    Donna Weeks
    With candidates jostling to take over from Yoshihide Suga, a late sprint from behind can’t be ruled out.
  • 6 Sep 2021
    • Nuclear Weapons
    • Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Arms Control and Disarmament
    • Japan

    Japan’s nuclear identity and the complicated endgame

    Tom Corben
    The legacy of a complex nuclear history weighs heavily on a country torn between deterrence and disarmament.
  • 18 Aug 2021
    • Japan

    The double challenge for Suga

    Purnendra Jain , Takeshi Kobayashi
    Japan’s Prime Minister cleared a massive Olympic hurdle. But will he trip up on the politics to follow?
  • 6 Aug 2021
    • Global Issues
    • Japan

    Life in a host city, at home, live-streaming the Olympics

    Donna Weeks
    Watching on from a tatami floor in Tokyo, the sport is great, the geopolitics just as good.
  • 20 Jul 2021
    • Global Issues
    • Japan

    Postcard from Tokyo 2020+1

    Donna Weeks
    Sport and politics make an unhappy union at one of the most controversial Olympics ever.
  • 14 Jul 2021
    • China
    • Japan

    Olympic glory: Tokyo’s success is a win for Beijing

    André Leslie
    China has just as much riding on a successful Tokyo 2020 Games as Japan.
  • 22 Apr 2021
    • Asia
    • United States
    • Trade
    • Asean
    • Australia
    • Japan
    • Technology

    Economic diplomacy: Supply chains, ASEAN wanes, and Japan’s coal dump

    Greg Earl
    Will government have to pick a winner for 6G networks to show the US and Japan as “global leaders in innovation”?
  • 22 Apr 2021
    • Asia
    • Japan
    • International law

    Toxic reaction to Japan’s Fukushima water dump

    Aristyo Rizka Darmawan
    Experts insist the release of treated radioactive water is not dangerous. Legal challenges might find otherwise.
  • 12 Apr 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australia
    • China
    • India
    • Japan

    The Quad (finally) delivers: Can it be sustained?

    Susan Thornton
    The future of the grouping might well be determined by China’s behaviour.
  • 8 Apr 2021
    • Japan
    • Human rights
    • Sex and Gender

    Legalising same-sex marriage in Japan

    Akimoto Daisuke
    A court ruling has thrown down the challenge to Japanese politicians to ensure equality before the law.
  • 16 Mar 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australia
    • India
    • Japan
    • Southeast Asia
    • Coronavirus

    The Quad gives a boost to India’s vaccine diplomacy

    Teesta Prakash
    Countering China’s influence is one thing. But fostering regional cooperation plays to the strengths of the grouping.
  • 15 Mar 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Diplomacy
    • United States
    • Multilateral Institutions
    • Asean
    • Australia
    • China
    • India
    • Japan

    A new “concert” to govern the Indo-Pacific

    Pang Zhongying
    For Quad leaders emphasising an “inclusive” region, there may be a ready-made example for involving China.
  • 4 Feb 2021
    • Japan
    • South Korea

    History haunts Japan–South Korea ties

    Henry Storey
    Geopolitical expediency has previously pushed South Korea and Japan closer together, but a painful past keeps intruding.
  • 27 Jan 2021
    • Australia
    • Japan
    • Coronavirus

    Using the Australian Open as a Tokyo test run

    André Leslie
    Two international sporting events thousands of kilometres apart are linked by a common opponent.
  • 20 Jan 2021
    • Japan

    Japan under Suga: The delicate balancing act

    Alexi Heazle
    The PM must satisfy more hawkish views on China at home, as well as Washington’s expectations of greater burden-sharing.
  • 19 Jan 2021
    • Pacific Islands
    • United States
    • Australia
    • India
    • Japan

    Australia’s Pacific Step-up and the Quad

    Eerishika Pankaj
    The four nations should take the chance to draw together a group of common initiatives in the Pacific islands region.
  • 17 Nov 2020
    • Japan
    • Russia

    Why Russia will not return the Kuril Islands to Japan

    Nikola Mikovic
    More than 60 years of stubborn diplomatic stalemate stemming from the Second World War doesn’t appear likely to end.
  • 12 Nov 2020
    • Defence & Security
    • Diplomacy
    • Australia
    • Japan

    Japan-Australia: The chance to sweeten the deal

    Donna Weeks
    Scott Morrison’s trip to Tokyo should move beyond a narrow focus on defence to secure the living environment.
  • 11 Nov 2020
    • United States
    • Japan
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    Biden’s comfortable style of diplomacy will be welcome for Japan

    David Walton , Akimoto Daisuke
    Fear within Tokyo circles that the US will become “too soft” on China missed the nuance a new administration will adopt.
  • 22 Oct 2020
    • Global Economy
    • Australia
    • China
    • Japan

    Economic diplomacy: Japanese investment takes a Toll

    Greg Earl
    While a disastrous foray by Japan Post grabs headlines, China shrinks as a share of the global economy.
  • 5 Oct 2020
    • United States
    • Australia
    • India
    • Japan

    A Quad of consequence: Balancing values and strategy

    Titli Basu
    The four-way gathering in Tokyo offers a chance to set out a vision for regional stability in the post-Covid order.
  • 18 Sep 2020
    • India
    • Japan

    India puts relations with Japan back on the rails

    Aarti Betigeri
    A project to build bullet train lines across India is part of a burgeoning trans-Asian partnership.
  • 17 Sep 2020
    • Japan

    Suga steps in, at least for now

    Donna Weeks
    Japan’s new prime minister has kept the Abe cabinet largely intact, but he’ll need to prove he’s a different leader.
  • 15 Sep 2020
    • Japan

    The making of Prime Minister Suga

    Titli Basu
    Abe Shinzo’s “Mr Fix-It” has the top job. Will he make his own mark in a country famed for its revolving door of PMs?
  • 31 Aug 2020
    • Australia
    • Japan

    Australia has lost its “best friend” in Asia

    David Walton , Akimoto Daisuke
    Whale hunts and submarine deals gone awry caused prickles, but Abe Shinzo sought special relationship with Canberra.
  • 30 Aug 2020
    • Japan

    Abe aimed to move mountains, setting Japan high goals for the future

    Purnendra Jain
    A strategic thinker and global leader, Japan’s prime minister was bold in foreign policy and politically strong at home.
  • 13 Aug 2020
    • Japan
    • Technology

    Japan’s tech industry reboot will have region-wide effects

    Elliot Silverberg , Patrick Madaj
    Japan can play a key role in digital debates facing democratic and authoritarian societies alike.
  • 6 Jul 2020
    • Japan

    Beyond Covid, the chance for a broader Australia-Japan relationship

    Donna Weeks
    Positive public feelings towards Tokyo show how Canberra can move beyond a narrow focus on security ties.
  • 3 Jul 2020
    • Japan
    • Coronavirus

    Popular Tokyo governor eyes a second term, and maybe more

    Purnendra Jain
    Yuriko Koike’s re-election is almost certain, and with the national government out of favour, she might not stop there.
  • 4 Jun 2020
    • China-Japan Relations
    • China
    • Japan

    China and Japan’s island dispute

    William Choong
    The issue is not whether Beijing would want to challenge Tokyo over the islands. The question is when, and how?
  • 2 Jun 2020
    • United States
    • Australia
    • India
    • Japan

    Who really killed the Quad 1.0?

    Daniel Flitton
    Australia has borne the blame for sinking the first Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. The history is not so simple.
  • 15 May 2020
    • Japan
    • Coronavirus

    In an Olympic-sized challenge, Japan’s golden chance could go begging

    André Leslie
    Cancellation rumblings are understandable, but an all-or-nothing attitude is a risk, not only for sport but diplomacy.
  • 1 May 2020
    • Japan
    • Coronavirus

    Japan: Cracks in Abe’s government amid the Covid-19 crisis

    Purnendra Jain , Takeshi Kobayashi
    The dream projects of Japan’s longest serving PM appear under threat as his political capital evaporates.
  • 27 Apr 2020
    • Defence & Security
    • Japan
    • South Korea

    Islands of ire: The South Korea–Japan dispute

    Olivia Tasevski
    The Dokdo/Takeshima islands are a flashpoint for memories of exploitation – a hostility that won’t soon be resolved.
  • 23 Apr 2020
    • Australia in the World
    • Pacific Islands
    • United States
    • Trade
    • China
    • Japan

    Statesman Turnbull steps up: Secret letters, taming Trump, due credit

    Greg Earl
    Business with Donald, shared history with Xi and a Pacific ploy are revealing of the former PM’s foreign ambition.
  • 7 Apr 2020
    • Japan
    • Coronavirus

    Japan and coronavirus: Abe needs to make bold decisions

    David Walton , Akimoto Daisuke
    A tradition of limited touching may slow the virus spread but political missteps leave the country vulnerable.
  • 3 Apr 2020
    • Sustainability
    • Japan

    Japanese whaling is down but not out

    Daniel Hurst
    The retreat from whaling in the Antarctic marks a historic shift, but Japan has raised quotas in its own waters.
  • 10 Mar 2020
    • Japan
    • Coronavirus

    Coping with Covid-19 as the Tokyo Olympics loom

    David Walton , Akimoto Daisuke
    Postponement looks likely – but a complete cancellation could be disastrous for Japan, Abe Shinzo included.
  • 24 Feb 2020
    • Japan

    Japan: Article 9 conundrum rears its head again

    David Walton
    The next 18 months offer Abe Shinzo his last chance as Prime Minister to amend Japan’s 1946 “Peace Constitution”.
  • 21 Feb 2020
    • Japan

    China-Japan-US triangle: Abe’s balancing act

    Titli Basu
    China’s rise, alliance management, and hedging against US abandonment is testing Japan’s policy choices.
  • 17 Feb 2020
    • Japan
    • South Korea

    Japan–South Korea tensions show little sign of easing

    Kate Kalinova
    After last year’s steady decline over a spate of issues, reconciliation remains a long way off.
  • 13 Feb 2020
    • Japan

    Japan should – like other countries – build and operate hospital ships

    Akimoto Daisuke
    Not only in responding to disasters at home, a floating hospital can advance Japan’s interests in the region.
  • 4 Feb 2020
    • Japan
    • North Korea
    • South Korea

    Tokyo Olympics are a chance for diplomatic reset with North Korea

    Khang Vu
    The 2018 PyeongChang games eased engagement between South Korea and Kim Jong-un. Japan has a similar opportunity now.
  • 31 Jan 2020
    • Japan

    Carlos Ghosn – from rock-star CEO to international fugitive

    John West
    The tale of the former Nissan chief exposes the contradictions of the man – and of corporate culture in Japan.
  • 22 Jan 2020
    • Japan
    • Climate change

    Japan has struck low in climate ambition

    Daniel Hurst
    Vague timeframes and inadequate emission reduction targets leave plenty of wiggle room in Abe Shinzo’s claims to lead.
  • 10 Jan 2020
    • Japan

    Asia’s shameful gender discrimination

    John West
    Japan is a standout for all the wrong reasons in a recent assessment of the gender gap in leading economies.
  • 4 Dec 2019
    • Japan

    On the trail of the Pope in Japan

    Peter Mauch
    The Catholic Church maintains a minimal presence in Japan, so what was Pope Francis doing there?
Pagination
  • Previous page ‹‹
  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Current page 3
  • Page 4
  • Page 5
  • Next page ››

Stay informed with the latest commentary and analysis on international events from experts at the Lowy Institute and around the world.

Register

The Interpreter features in-depth analysis & expert commentary on the latest international events, published daily by the Lowy Institute.

© Copyright 2024 Lowy Institute

  • Debates
  • Contributors
  • Articles
  • About
  • Terms of Use
  • Log In
  • My bookmarks