Tokyo’s Views on the Growing U.S.-China Rivalry

The Trump administration sees China as a long-term strategic rival, and has challenged China on multiple fronts including trade, technology, and defense. While United States and Japan approach China policy with many common views, they often have different priorities and use different diplomatic tools. The stakes for Japan and the U.S.-Japan alliance are getting higher as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe makes his own bid to reorient relations with Beijing, to maximize economic opportunity while protecting Japan’s long-term interests.

Professors Yuichi Hosoya and Yoshihide Soeya of Keio University discussed Japanese perspectives of China policy, as U.S. trade talks with China come to a head and as the allies look to expand security cooperation following Japan’s new National Defense Program Guidelines. They discussed where talks with North Korea should go, following the failed Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi. Toshihiro Nakayama offered comments and Carnegie’s James L. Schoff moderated.

Yuichi Hosoya

Yuichi Hosoya is professor of international politics at Keio University. He is also senior researcher at the Nakasone Yasuhiro Peace Institute, senior fellow at the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research,and an adjunct fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs.

Yoshihide Soeya

Yoshihide Soeya is professor of political science and international relations at the Faculty of Law of Keio University. His areas of interest are politics and security in East Asia, and Japanese diplomacy and its external relations.

Toshihiro Nakayama

Toshihiro Nakayama is a Japan fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Asia Program and a professor in the faculty of policy management at Keio University in Japan. He specializes in U.S. politics and foreign policy, U.S.-Japan relations, and international relations.

James L. Schoff

James L. Schoff is a senior fellow in the Carnegie Asia Program. His research focuses on U.S.-Japan relations and regional engagement, Japanese politics and security, and the private sector’s role in Japanese policymaking.

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.