The Role of the Japan-US Alliance in the Face of US-China Strategic Rivalry

January 15, 5:00pm - 6:00pm
Mānoa Campus, Hawaii Imin International Conference Center, Koi Room (Garden Level)

Please join us for a Public Lecture by Yoichi Kato, Senior Research Fellow, Asia Pacific Initiative

The U.S.-China “strategic rivalry” is more than just a “trade war.” National security analyst Yoichi Kato asserts that the fundamental problem is that each country does not fully understand the strategic thinking of the other and cannot manage bilateral relations. One example is the U.S.’s recent bipartisan admission that its decades-long China engagement policy, aimed at transforming the country into a liberal democracy, has failed. The other is the failure of China’s “New Model of Major Power Relations” which the Xi Jinping administration tried to establish with the U.S. in 2013. This dual management failure presents an enormous challenge to Indo-Pacific states including Japan, which depends on trade with China and looks to the U.S. for security guarantees.

Mr. Kato will share his perspective on this dilemma of dual dependence (D3) which worsens as U.S.-China relations deteriorate. The U.S. alliance, indispensable for Japan’s security, will remain a pillar in its security strategy, but its failure to effectively address D3 forces Japan, and other regional states, to pursue an “alliance plus” option to safeguard national interests.

Yoichi Kato is a senior research fellow at the Asia Pacific Initiative (API), an independent think tank in Japan, and an adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS.) His area of expertise includes the national security strategy of Japan and U.S.-China strategic relations. Prior to joining API, he was a national security correspondent at the Asahi Shimbun and chief of the American General Bureau in DC. He was a visiting scholar at the School of International Studies, Peking University, CSIS and the Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University in Washington, DC. Mr. Kato taught national security strategy at Gakushuin University in Tokyo. He holds an MA from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts Univer

Free Admission
Limited seating

RSVP by Jan. 14: 944-7111 or EWCInfo@EastWestCenter.org

Campus parking: $7 at the kiosk on East-West Road. After 4 pm, visitors may park in any non-RESERVED stall

Sponsored by the Consulate-General of Japan in Honolulu and the East-West Center.

Co-sponsored by:

  • Japan-America Society of Hawaii
  • Pacific & Asian Affairs Council
  • Pacific Forum
  • UH Center for Japanese Studies

Primary Contact Info:
Email: EWCInfo@EastWestCenter.org
Phone: 944-7111


Event Sponsor
East-West Center, Mānoa Campus

More Information
944-7111, EWCinfo@eastwestcenter.org

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