IJS Lecture: Yoichi Kato, "The Role of the Japan-U.S. Alliance in the Face of the U.S.-China Strategic Rivalry"

January 13, 2020

3:30PM - 5:00PM

Mendenhall Lab 175

Add to Calendar 2020-01-13 16:30:00 2020-01-13 18:00:00 IJS Lecture: Yoichi Kato, "The Role of the Japan-U.S. Alliance in the Face of the U.S.-China Strategic Rivalry" The Institute for Japanese Studies presents:Yoichi Kato Senior ResearcherAsia Pacific InitiativeTitle: The Role of the Japan-U.S. Alliance in the Face of the U.S.-China Strategic RivalryFlyer: Kato FlyerAbstract: The strategic rivalry between the United States and China goes beyond just a “trade war” and is structural in nature. The fundamental problem is that they do not understand each other’s strategic thinking and cannot manage their bilateral relations as they intend to. One example is the recent consensus in the United States across the aisle that its decade-long engagement with China to transform the country into a liberal democracy was a failure. The other is the failure of what China has called the “New Model of Major Power Relations,” which the Xi Jinping administration tried to establish with the United States since 2013. This dual management failure presents an enormous challenge to the nations in the Indo-Pacific region, including Japan, which depend on China for trade and economy, and look to the United States for security guarantees. This dilemma of dual dependence gets exacerbated when the U.S-China relations deteriorate. While the alliance with the United States has been indispensable for Japan’s security and will continue to remain the main pillar of Japan’s security strategy, this alliance does not effectively address the dilemma of dual dependence for Japan. As a result, Japan is bound to pursue an “alliance plus” option to safeguard its national interests. And, such an option and strategies are probably true for other nations in the region.Bio: Mr. Yoichi Kato is senior research fellow at a Japanese independent think tank, Asia Pacific Initiative (API). His area of expertise includes national security strategy of Japan and U.S.-China strategic relations. Prior to joining API, he was national security correspondent of the Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper. He was bureau chief of Asahi’s American General Bureau in Washington, DC. While at the Asahi Shimbun, he was invited to the School of International Studies of Peking University in Beijing, China as a visiting scholar. He also held positions of visiting research fellow at both Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Institute for National Strategic Studies of U.S. National Defense University (INSS/NDU) in Washington, D.C. He taught national security strategy at GAKUSHUIN University in Tokyo. He earned his MA from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, U.S.A. He is currently an adjunct fellow of CSIS. His publications include “美国的亜太再平衡戦略及其対地区戦略環境的影响” (中国国際戦略評論２０１３).Free and Open to the PublicThe IJS Lecture Series is supported by a U.S. Department of Education Title VI grant to The Ohio State University East Asian Studies Center. Yoichi Kato’s lecture tour is sponsored by the Consulate General of Japan in Detroit. Mendenhall Lab 175 OSU ASC Drupal 8 ascwebservices@osu.edu America/New_York public

Add to Calendar 2020-01-13 15:30:00 2020-01-13 17:00:00 IJS Lecture: Yoichi Kato, "The Role of the Japan-U.S. Alliance in the Face of the U.S.-China Strategic Rivalry" The Institute for Japanese Studies presents:Yoichi Kato Senior ResearcherAsia Pacific InitiativeTitle: The Role of the Japan-U.S. Alliance in the Face of the U.S.-China Strategic RivalryFlyer: Kato FlyerAbstract: The strategic rivalry between the United States and China goes beyond just a “trade war” and is structural in nature. The fundamental problem is that they do not understand each other’s strategic thinking and cannot manage their bilateral relations as they intend to.  One example is the recent consensus in the United States across the aisle that its decade-long engagement with China to transform the country into a liberal democracy was a failure.  The other is the failure of what China has called the “New Model of Major Power Relations,” which the Xi Jinping administration tried to establish with the United States since 2013.  This dual management failure presents an enormous challenge to the nations in the Indo-Pacific region, including Japan, which depend on China for trade and economy, and look to the United States for security guarantees.  This dilemma of dual dependence gets exacerbated when the U.S-China relations deteriorate.  While the alliance with the United States has been indispensable for Japan’s security and will continue to remain the main pillar of Japan’s security strategy, this alliance does not effectively address the dilemma of dual dependence for Japan.  As a result, Japan is bound to pursue an “alliance plus” option to safeguard its national interests.  And, such an option and strategies are probably true for other nations in the region.Bio: Mr. Yoichi Kato is senior research fellow at a Japanese independent think tank, Asia Pacific Initiative (API). His area of expertise includes national security strategy of Japan and U.S.-China strategic relations. Prior to joining API, he was national security correspondent of the Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper. He was bureau chief of Asahi’s American General Bureau in Washington, DC. While at the Asahi Shimbun, he was invited to the School of International Studies of Peking University in Beijing, China as a visiting scholar. He also held positions of visiting research fellow at both Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Institute for National Strategic Studies of U.S. National Defense University (INSS/NDU) in Washington, D.C. He taught national security strategy at GAKUSHUIN University in Tokyo. He earned his MA from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, U.S.A. He is currently an adjunct fellow of CSIS. His publications include “美国的亜太再平衡戦略及其対地区戦略環境的影响” (中国国際戦略評論２０１３).Free and Open to the PublicThe IJS Lecture Series is supported by a U.S. Department of Education Title VI grant to The Ohio State University East Asian Studies Center. Yoichi Kato’s lecture tour is sponsored by the Consulate General of Japan in Detroit.   Mendenhall Lab 175 East Asian Studies Center easc@osu.edu America/New_York public

The Institute for Japanese Studies presents:

Yoichi Kato
Senior Researcher
Asia Pacific Initiative

Title: The Role of the Japan-U.S. Alliance in the Face of the U.S.-China Strategic Rivalry

Flyer: Kato Flyer

Abstract: The strategic rivalry between the United States and China goes beyond just a “trade war” and is structural in nature. The fundamental problem is that they do not understand each other’s strategic thinking and cannot manage their bilateral relations as they intend to. One example is the recent consensus in the United States across the aisle that its decade-long engagement with China to transform the country into a liberal democracy was a failure. The other is the failure of what China has called the “New Model of Major Power Relations,” which the Xi Jinping administration tried to establish with the United States since 2013. This dual management failure presents an enormous challenge to the nations in the Indo-Pacific region, including Japan, which depend on China for trade and economy, and look to the United States for security guarantees. This dilemma of dual dependence gets exacerbated when the U.S-China relations deteriorate. While the alliance with the United States has been indispensable for Japan’s security and will continue to remain the main pillar of Japan’s security strategy, this alliance does not effectively address the dilemma of dual dependence for Japan. As a result, Japan is bound to pursue an “alliance plus” option to safeguard its national interests. And, such an option and strategies are probably true for other nations in the region.

Bio: Mr. Yoichi Kato is senior research fellow at a Japanese independent think tank, Asia Pacific Initiative (API). His area of expertise includes national security strategy of Japan and U.S.-China strategic relations. Prior to joining API, he was national security correspondent of the Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper. He was bureau chief of Asahi’s American General Bureau in Washington, DC. While at the Asahi Shimbun, he was invited to the School of International Studies of Peking University in Beijing, China as a visiting scholar. He also held positions of visiting research fellow at both Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Institute for National Strategic Studies of U.S. National Defense University (INSS/NDU) in Washington, D.C. He taught national security strategy at GAKUSHUIN University in Tokyo. He earned his MA from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, U.S.A. He is currently an adjunct fellow of CSIS. His publications include “美国的亜太再平衡戦略及其対地区戦略環境的影响” (中国国際戦略評論２０１３).

Free and Open to the Public

The IJS Lecture Series is supported by a U.S. Department of Education Title VI grant to The Ohio State University East Asian Studies Center. Yoichi Kato’s lecture tour is sponsored by the Consulate General of Japan in Detroit.