The Japan Memo is a monthly podcast series that analyses why Japan matters in today’s regional and global geopolitical landscape. In each episode, Robert Ward of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Japan Chair Programme, will bring in strategists, experts and practitioners from around the world to examine how Japan is using its diplomatic, economic and military tools to achieve its strategic goals, and what lessons it offers to other countries.<hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
Japan Memo
Claim This Podcastby The International Institute for Strategic Studies
4.6(8 reviews)
58 episodes
Updated Bi-weekly
Accepts GuestsHas SponsorsLocation 🇬🇧
61
Podcast Authority
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Quality52
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YouTube93
Engagement81
Podcast Overview
The Japan Memo is a monthly podcast series that analyses why Japan matters in today’s regional and global geopolitical landscape. In each episode, Robert Ward of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Japan Chair Programme, will bring in strategists, experts and practitioners from around the world to examine how Japan is using its diplomatic, economic and military tools to achieve its strategic goals, and what lessons it offers to other countries.<hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
7/1/2021
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Recent Episodes
June 12, 2026
Key takeaways from the 23rd IISS Shangri-La Dialogue with Professor Jimbo Ken
<p>Robert Ward speaks with Professor Jimbo Ken – Managing Director of the International House of Japan, President of the Asia Pacific Initiative and Professor at the Faculty of Policy Management at Keio University – for a wide-ranging analysis of the 23rd IISS Shangri-La Dialogue. This special edition of Japan Memo offers timely and in-depth analysis of the key themes and moments from this year’s Dialogue.</p><br><p>Together, they explore:</p><p>● the overall strategic picture from this year’s Dialogue;</p><p>● US Secretary of Defense Hegseth’s speech: Taiwan, China, and shifts in tone from 2025;</p><p>● Minister Koizumi’s address in English and its strategic significance;</p><p>● the state of Japan–China relations and counter-narratives on ‘new militarism’;</p><p>● Japan–Southeast Asia relations and Japan’s role in upholding regional order.</p><br><p>We hope you enjoy the episode. Please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on your preferred podcast platform. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at japanchair@iiss.org.</p><br><p>Date recorded: 31 May 2026</p><br><p>Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
June 12, 2026
Special Episode | Japanese Minister of Defense Koizumi Shinjiro: reflections on the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue 2026
<p>Robert Ward speaks with Japan’s Minister of Defense, Koizumi Shinjiro, on the sidelines of the 23rd IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. In this special episode of Japan Memo, Minister Koizumi discusses his impressions of the Dialogue and reflects on what Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s speech means for Japan and for the US—Japan Alliance.</p><br><p>Together, they explore:</p><p>● Minister Koizumi’s impressions of the Shangri-La Dialogue;</p><p>● the highlights of Secretary Hegseth’s address and its implications for Japan;</p><p>● Japan’s defence-industrial cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners.</p><br><p>We hope you enjoy the episode. Please follow, rate and subscribe to Japan Memo on your preferred podcast platform. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at japanchair@iiss.org.</p><br><p>Date recorded: 30 May 2026</p><br><p>Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
May 8, 2026
Japan’s defence-export reform with Miyagawa Makio and Michishita Narushige
<p>Robert Ward hosts Ambassador Miyagawa Makio, former senior Japanese diplomat, and Professor Michishita Narushige, Professor of International Security Studies at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) and a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, for an in-depth discussion on the recent reform of Japan’s defence-export policy.</p><p> </p><p>Together, they explore:</p><ul><li>The historical background of Japan’s defence-export policy</li><li>The recent shift in Japan’s defence-export policy</li><li>The perspectives of Japan’s US ally and strategic partners on the recent policy shift</li><li>Opportunities and challenges for Japan as a defence equipment and technology exporter</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Recommended readings from our guests:</p><ul><li>Agawa Naoyuki, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Friendship-Across-Seas-Maritime-Self-Defense/dp/4866580550" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Friendship Across the Seas: The US Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force</a>, (Tokyo: Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture, 2019), 308pp.</li><li>Doi Yasuaki, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tainichi-Keizai-Senso-1939-Economic/dp/489514187X" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tainichi Keizai Sensō: 1939–1941 [Economic War against Japan: 1939–1941]</a>, (Tokyo: Chuokoron-Shinsha, 2002), 302pp.</li><li>Tobe Ryoichi, Teramoto Yoshinari, Kamata Shinichi, Suginoo Yoshio, Murai Tomohide and Nonaka Ikujiro, <a href="https://www.diamond.co.jp/book/9784478370131.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shippai no Honshitsu [The Essence of Failure: An Organisational Study of the Imperial Japanese Military]</a>, (Tokyo: Diamond, 1984), 304pp.</li><li>Michishita Narushige, The Maritime Strategy and the US–Japan Alliance: Fighting the Cold War in the Pacific, (Washington DC: Georgetown University Press, forthcoming 2027).</li></ul><p><br></p><p>We hope you enjoy the episode. Please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on your preferred podcast platform. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at <a href="mailto:japanchair@iiss.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">japanchair@iiss.org</a>. </p><br><p>Date recorded: <strong>23 April 2026</strong></p><br><p>Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
58 total episodes available
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Jimbo Ken
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This podcast updates bi-weekly.
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