Today, Jess, Martha, Morgan, and Les discuss Japan’s new Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, a 67-year-old Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) backbencher, who has grand ideas for Japanese foreign policy including establishing an Asian NATO to deter China, joint management of U.S. bases in Japan, and the United States sharing their nuclear deterrence with Japan.

What does Ishiba and his foreign policy ideas mean for U.S.-Japan relations? Are any of Ishiba’s security ideas achievable? How do U.S. partners and allies in the Indo-Pacific perceive our security assurances?

Check out the answers to these questions and more in this episode of Fault Lines.

Check out the sources that helped shape our expert's discussion!

https://www.hudson.org/politics-government/shigeru-ishiba-japans-new-security-era-future-japans-foreign-policy

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/09/29/japans-prime-minister-ishiba-00181546

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/japans-newly-elected-prime-minister-shigeru-ishiba-forms-cabinet-with-emphasis-on-defense

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/incoming-japan-pm-ishibas-asian-nato-idea-test-us-diplomacy-2024-09-27/

https://apnews.com/article/japan-ishiba-us-south-korea-australia-china-73a66e7b2fce8c3847622acf314357e1

https://www.usip.org/publications/2024/08/how-fumio-kishida-shaped-japans-foreign-policy

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@lestermunson

@NotTVJessJones

@marthamillerdc

@morganlroach

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