Press Conference: The Way Forward For Japan-China Relations by Bonji Ohara

PRESS CONFERENCE
Bonji Ohara, Senior Fellow, International Peace and Security Department, the Sasakawa Peace Foundation.

The Way Forward For Japan-China Relations

Ties between Japan and China stand at a crossroads as the two Asian superpowers are on the cusp of the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations in 2022. Next year will be a pivotal year that also coincides with the Chinese Communist Party's 20th National Party Congress, while Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has promised a sweeping review to the National Security Strategy amid simmering geopolitical tensions.

At the same time, all eyes are on whether Japan will join its Western partners in a ministerial boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games over allegations of Chinese human rights violations. More crucially, there is also the question of whether Japan will intervene militarily alongside the United States, its security ally, if China were to take Taiwan by force, as former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe suggested last week.

Bonji Ohara, a senior research fellow focusing on international peace and security at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation think-tank, will visit the FCCJ to analyze these issues and discuss the way forward for Japan's defense and foreign policies. He has broad experience working in defense before giving up his military stripes. He was based in China from 2003 to 2006 as a Naval Attaché, and served as chief of intelligence at the Maritime Staff Office of the Ministry of Defense in 2006. He was also Commanding Officer of the 21st flight squadron in 2009. Ohara's research expertise lies in modern Chinese politics, the Japan-US security alliance, and Japan's security policy.

Source: FCCJ