*Japan Zoominar @ UC San Diego: **"Is Japan Ready for War? Putin's Invasion and the Taiwan Contingency," with Sheila A. Smith*

Wed, Apr 20, 8:00-9:00 am JST (Tue, Apr 19, 4:00-5:00 pm Pacific)

Japan confronts an increasingly dangerous security environment. China's growing power has changed the military balance in the western Pacific, and Japan and South Korea feel that impact acutely. Growing military pressure on Taiwan also raises the prospect of a conflict that the U.S. allies would be expected to join. Russia's war against Ukraine has considerable geopolitical import for Japan as well, and Tokyo, alongside NATO nations, was quick to sanction Russia for its invasion. What does this new, unsettled world mean for Japan's military strategy in the 21st century, and for the region in terms of relations between Japan, China, and South Korea? Join us to discuss how this increasingly fragile postwar order will shape the Kishida Cabinet's review of its National Security Strategy and its future investment in military power.

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*Sheila A. Smith* is John E. Merow senior fellow for Asia-Pacific studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). An expert on Japanese politics and foreign policy, she is the author of "Japan Rearmed: The Politics of Military Power," "Intimate Rivals: Japanese Domestic Politics and a Rising China," and "Japan's New Politics and the U.S.-Japan Alliance." She is also the author of the CFR interactive guide Constitutional Change in Japan. Smith is a regular contributor to the CFR blog Asia Unbound and a frequent contributor to major media outlets in the United States and Asia.

*Ulrike Schaede* is Professor of Japanese Business at GPS, UC San Diego, and the Director of JFIT. Her research focuses on Japan's changing corporate strategies, including business culture, change management, and business organization. Her 2020 book "The Business Reinvention of Japan' analyzes how Japanese companies are responding to the rise of China and the changing global competition.

*This event is co-sponsored by the 21st Century China Center and the Korea-Pacific Program at UC San Diego.

Register here: https://bit.ly/3qdqVLB

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