Event title: Taiwan-Japan Relations: Implications for the United States
Date: June 16, 2021, 9:00AM - 10:45AM ET
Host: Global Taiwan Institute
Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxYM5YmU2Xw <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxYM5YmU2Xw>

Panelists:
Sheila Smith, Council on Foreign Relations
Yasuhiro Matsuda, University of Tokyo
Ken Weinstein, Hudson Institute
I-Chung Lai, Prospect Foundation
June Teufel Dreyer, University of Miami

Moderator:
Russell Hsiao, Global Taiwan Institute

Event description:
During their historic summit on April 16, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga took the unprecedented step of recognizing the "importance of peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait." This was the first statement to explicitly include Taiwan in a summit between the two leaders since 1969. While undoubtedly momentous, this statement did not emerge from a vacuum but is instead indicative of broader shifts in the geopolitical landscape and trends in US-Japan-Taiwan relations. An important but relatively unexamined vector of the trilateral relationship, Taipei and Tokyo have a long and intertwined history that are both deep yet subtle. This bilateral relationship is now increasingly coming out onto the international stage. From expanding trade ties to deepening cultural affinities, shared geopolitical concerns, the two island nations have built the foundations for a strong relationship. Despite these advances, the United States has not traditionally fully grasped the strategic implications of stronger Taiwan-Japan relations. A positive recent indication of greater attention paid by Washington towards relations between Taipei and Tokyo came in the appointment of the deputy director of the American Institute in Taiwan, the US de facto embassy in Taiwan, as the interim ambassador to Tokyo. What are the domestic drivers of ongoing changes in Taiwan and Japan? Moreover, what are their implications for the United States and the future of the trilateral relationship in the context of US-China strategic competition?