Blog – Diplomacy & Business

When consultation excludes those consulted

31

Jul

Opinion

When consultation excludes those consulted

Urmas Teder, Journalist Japan often presents itself as a country committed to administrative transparency and evidence-based policymaking. Public consultations are one of the mechanisms through which the government seeks to reinforce that image, allowing citizens and stakeholders to comment on proposed regulations before they are adopted. Yet the latest revision of immigration-related fees raises an uncomfortable question: how meaningful is a consultation if many of those most directly affected cannot realistically participate? The Ministry of Justice has opened a public comment period on a proposal that would substantially increase a range of immigration-related administrative fees. The most striking measure would…

27

Jul

By Josep Solano

Opinion

Japan’s quiet return to realism

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…

27

Jul

By Diplomacy and Business

Editorial

Asia doesn’t choose sides

For many observers, there was something contradictory about Japan's diplomatic agenda in Manila. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi met with his counterparts from the QUAD, reaffirmed support for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, discussed regional security with ASEAN partners, defended freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, and still found time for a brief conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Seen from Brussels or Washington, this may appear inconsistent. Seen from Asia, it is simply diplomacy. Western foreign policy increasingly frames international relations as a choice between competing blocs. Countries are expected to demonstrate loyalty, reduce engagement with rivals…

24

Jul

By Diplomacy and Business

Opinion

Citizens don’t eat flags

Urmas Teder, Journalist Sanae Takaichi’s declining approval ratings offer an early warning for Japan’s new conservative government. According to the latest Mainichi poll, support for her cabinet has fallen to 41%, while disapproval has risen to 44%. The figures do not necessarily indicate an immediate political crisis, but they reveal a growing gap between the symbolic appeal of Takaichi’s agenda and the practical expectations of a society facing some of the world’s most difficult economic and demographic challenges. Takaichi’s rise was built around a promise to restore national confidence: a stronger defence policy, a more assertive foreign policy, stricter immigration…

The economy is recovering but families are not convinced

21

Jul

By Josep Solano

Opinion

The economy is recovering but families are not convinced

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.…

Japan’s quiet reinvention as a security power

21

Jul

By Diplomacy and Business

Editorial

Japan’s quiet reinvention as a security power

For decades, Japan cultivated an international identity built on economic strength, technological excellence and constitutional restraint. Security was important, but it rarely defined the country's diplomatic narrative. That balance is gradually changing. Without dramatic announcements or sweeping declarations, Tokyo is steadily expanding its role as a provider of international security. The latest meeting between State Minister for Foreign Affairs Iwao Horii and UN Under-Secretary-General Atul Khare illustrates this evolution. On the surface, it was another routine discussion on UN peacekeeping operations and the Triangular Partnership Programme. In reality, it reflects Japan's growing ambition to shape international security through capacity-building rather…

17

Jul

By Diplomacy and Business

Opinion

When demographics meet politics

Urmas Teder, Journalist Japan has entered a decisive moment in its demographic debate. For years, the country approached immigration cautiously but pragmatically, gradually expanding labour migration to offset an ageing population and a shrinking workforce. Today, however, the political conversation is shifting. What was once a discussion about economic necessity is increasingly framed as a question of national identity, social cohesion and public security. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's response to calls from Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya for stricter immigration controls illustrates this change. Although she stopped short of committing to numerical limits on foreign residents, she accepted much of the…

The force of law against the force of power

13

Jul

By Josep Solano

Opinion

The force of law against the force of power

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…

13

Jul

By Diplomacy and Business

Editorial

Trust as strategy

For much of the post-Cold War era, economic competitiveness was measured by access to markets, labour costs and production capacity. Today, a different variable has moved to the centre of global affairs: trust. Governments, investors and multinational corporations increasingly make strategic decisions based not only on economic efficiency but also on the institutional reliability of their partners. In an era marked by geopolitical fragmentation, trust has become a strategic asset. This transformation is reshaping the international economic landscape. Supply chains are no longer organised solely around cost optimisation; they are increasingly structured around political predictability, regulatory transparency and technological security.…

The glass ceiling at the Chrysanthemum Throne

10

Jul

By Diplomacy and Business

Opinion

The glass ceiling at the Chrysanthemum Throne

Urmas Teder, Journalist There is a certain irony in history that no speechwriter could invent. Japan has elected its first female prime minister, yet one of the defining legislative battles of her administration seeks to ensure that a woman will never inherit the nation's highest symbolic institution. Politics, as always, has a remarkable sense of humour. Sanae Takaichi has defended the reform of the Imperial House Law as a necessary measure to preserve centuries of uninterrupted patrilineal succession. Her government argues that tradition must prevail over changing public opinion. The difficulty is that public opinion appears remarkably united: according to…