Trump and East Asia: Moving from Campaign Mode to Governing

By Kuni Miyake

Kuni Miyake is President of the Foreign Policy Institute, a private think-tank in Tokyo, Research Director for foreign and National Security Affairs at Canon Institute for Global Studies and a Visiting Professor at Ritsumeikan University. 

After a presidential campaign peppered with accusations of inadequate burden-sharing by Japan in its security relationship with the United States, President Donald Trump has attempted to calm fears of a U.S. retreat from its old ally. In February, the President hosted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the White House and at his Florida golf resort, Mar a Lago, while the new U.S. Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, took time to visit Japan and meet with his counterpart, Defense Minister Tomomi Inada. After this reset in relations, Cipher Brief Analyst Fritz Lodge spoke with Kuni Miyake, President of the Tokyo-based Foreign Policy Institute to discuss the future of the U.S.-Japan alliance under this new administration.

The Cipher Brief: In your mind, how have the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) changed under the leadership of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe?

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