Roundtable Discussion with Prof. Hiroshi Nakanishi: Japan's Changing Security Posture in the Indo-Pacific: Historical Backgrounds and Geopolitical Aspects

In December 2022, Tokyo released three security documents that made headlines worldwide. Highlighting the acquisition of counterstrike capabilities, the large increase in defense spending and other decisions enshrined in the documents, some believe that these mark a critical juncture in Japan’s security policy. In this roundtable conversation on Japan, different speakers will converse with Professor Hiroshi Nakanishi with regard to Japan’s colonial past, the various island disputes, rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait and Japan’s relations with both China and the United States.

The roundtable will start with different speakers offering a short input and will then evolve into an open conversation between the public/students and professor Nakanishi and the other speakers.

Prof. Hiroshi Nakanishi is a political scientist at the Graduate School of Government at Kyoto University.

Prof. Dr. Raji Steineck is Professor for Japanology, at the University of Zurich.

PD. Dr. Simona A. Grano is Privat Dozentin in Sinology at the University of Zürich.

Prof. Dr. Lorenz Langer is Assistant Professor for public law and international law at the University of Zurich.