For Yuichi Hosoya's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
By labeling his foreign policy stance as “realism,” the prime minister is apparently trying to avoid being criticized by conservative members of the party.
Focusing on collaboration with Washington in a range of areas will help Tokyo to make its presence felt across the Indo-Pacific region.
Defense cooperation between Tokyo and London will be an indispensable pillar to support the next moves taken by Washington in the region.
Tokyo must learn from its history of making bad decisions and being slow to deal with postwar crises.
Tokyo must be wary of Beijing's attempts to split the Japan-U.S. alliance, and must work to persuade Washington of the best approach to conflict.
As tensions in the Asia-Pacific region increase, the ties between Tokyo, Washington and Beijing continue to change.
Japan and Australia need to team up with the United States and the United Kingdom to shore up values and ideals in the region.
As a friend of the U.S. and a key trading partner for China, Japan has a role to play in calming tensions in the region.
With Washington's relationship with Beijing fast deteriorating, Tokyo has the opportunity to step up and show its strength.
When Japan was a young nation-state 150 years ago, its leaders charted a course through trial and error. Now we are in need of a new vision, identity and strategy for the next 150 years.
