Josep Solano

Japan has not changed its sanctions against Russia. But it has changed something equally important: it has publicly acknowledged that diplomacy cannot function without dialogue. Toshimitsu Motegi's explanation after his brief conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was not really about Russia. It was about Japan. More precisely, it was an implicit acknowledgement that foreign policy cannot be built exclusively around political alignment when geography continues to impose its own rules. Japan remains fully committed to the G7's sanctions, yet it also recognises that a neighbouring nuclear power cannot simply be ignored. Territorial disputes, fishing rights, energy security and…

For years, Japan's defining economic challenge was stagnation. Today, for the first time in a generation, some of the country's key indicators offer cautious grounds for optimism. Wages are rising, household incomes are increasing, and inflation -while uncomfortable- is also evidence that Japan has finally emerged from decades of deflation. On paper, the economy appears to be entering a healthier phase. Yet statistics tell only part of the story. When more than half of Japanese households still describe their financial situation as difficult, it becomes clear that economic recovery and public perception are not necessarily moving in the same direction.…

On 12 July 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague issued one of the most consequential rulings in contemporary maritime law. The tribunal unanimously concluded that China's expansive claims in the South China Sea, particularly those based on so-called "historic rights", lacked legal foundation under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Ten years later, however, the significance of that decision lies less in its legal conclusions than in a more fundamental question: can international law still shape state behaviour when confronted by geopolitical realities? The joint statement issued this month by fifteen countries—including…

When Sanae Takaichi chose New Delhi as one of her first major international destinations, the gesture carried far greater significance than it might initially have appeared. Japan is not simply looking for another economic partner or a counterweight to China's rise. It is acknowledging that India has moved beyond the label of an emerging power to become an indispensable actor in any discussion about Asia's future. For decades, the West viewed India largely through the prism of comparison with China. It always seemed one step behind: less developed infrastructure, weaker manufacturing, more bureaucracy, greater poverty. Yet that comparison overlooked a…

For more than three decades, globalization was driven by a simple principle: let markets decide. Governments dismantled trade barriers, outsourced production to wherever costs were lowest and assumed that economic interdependence would, sooner or later, reinforce political stability. Efficiency became the overriding objective, while geopolitics was largely treated as a relic of the twentieth century. That assumption no longer holds. The change has not arrived because globalization failed. On the contrary, it became so successful that it created new forms of vulnerability. The concentration of semiconductor manufacturing, critical minerals, pharmaceutical ingredients or battery materials in a handful of countries has…

For more than two centuries, Switzerland symbolised the possibility that neutrality could serve both as a moral principle and as an effective foreign policy. Today, that certainty has faded. The geopolitical consequences of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the intensifying strategic rivalry between the United States and China, and the gradual fragmentation of the international order have made neutrality increasingly difficult to sustain. In a world that rewards alignment, remaining equidistant has become an exception rather than the rule. Against this backdrop, ASEAN's diplomatic doctrine appears remarkably resilient. While major powers encourage countries to choose sides, Southeast Asia continues to defend…

When Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to international audiences, the message is clear. Japan is presented as an open, reliable and technologically advanced partner, committed to economic security, resilient supply chains and deeper cooperation with like-minded democracies. In her recent article in the Financial Times, Takaichi portrayed a country ready to play a leading role in strategic initiatives such as the Global Combat Air Programme, alongside the United Kingdom and Italy, while positioning Japan as a key node in the emerging architecture of economic and technological security in the Indo-Pacific. Yet the Japan promoted abroad does not always correspond…

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is facing growing political pressure following allegations that members of her campaign team were involved in the dissemination of anonymous online videos targeting political rivals during recent party primaries and national elections. While she has firmly denied any involvement, leaked audio recordings from internal online meetings appear to show discussions consistent with the coordination of such activity, intensifying scrutiny from opposition parties. The controversy has now moved beyond questions of campaign ethics and into a more sensitive institutional terrain: the credibility of official denial in the face of accumulating evidence. At the centre of the…

For years, Japan has been trying to solve a complex equation: it needs more workers, more engineers, more researchers, and more international talent than at any other point in its recent history. The demographic decline is no longer a long-term projection but a daily reality already affecting entire sectors of the economy. The government’s technological and industrial ambitions increasingly depend on its ability to attract foreign professionals capable of sustaining competitiveness in fields such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and digital infrastructure. Yet the package of reforms approved in the Diet last week points in a direction that does not always…

Japan has spent recent years redefining its role in the global economy through the lens of economic security. From semiconductor supply chains to critical infrastructure, data governance and advanced technologies, Tokyo has moved decisively to reduce vulnerabilities in an increasingly fragmented geopolitical environment. The objective is clear: to protect national capabilities in an era of strategic competition. Yet beneath this coherent strategic narrative lies a growing tension. The very framework designed to safeguard economic sovereignty risks, if not carefully calibrated, undermining the competitiveness it seeks to preserve. The expansion of Japan’s Economic Security Promotion Act and the rollout of stricter…