The United States and Japan are entering the critical final phase in revising their guidelines for defense cooperation, even as Japan’s government prepares legislation to codify the Cabinet’s historic decision in July to exercise limited rights of collective self-defense and expand its “Proactive Contributions to Peace” via international cooperation. 

Professor Matake Kamiya and columnist Yoichi Kato discussed recent developments in these two related initiatives and consider long-term implications of different approaches the allies might take. American specialists added their analysis, followed by a group discussion including other members of this policy project team. Carnegie’s James L. Schoff moderated.

This event was co-sponsored by the Japan Forum on International Relations and the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University

Matake Kamiya

Matake Kamiya is professor of international relations at the National Defense Academy of Japan and a leading security expert in Japan. He specializes in international relations, international security, Japan’s postwar pacifism, U.S.-Japan security relations, and Japan’s nuclear policy.

Yoichi Kato

Yoichi Kato is a visiting scholar at the School of International Studies of Peking University in Beijing and national security correspondent for the Asahi Shimbun. He previously served as bureau chief of the American General Bureau for Asahi and was a visiting research fellow at the National Defense University. 

James J. Przystup

James J. Przystup is a senior research fellow at the National Defense University’s Institute for National Strategic Studies. He has worked in the legislative and executive branches, think tanks, and private industry on East Asia and the Pacific for thirty years. 

James L. Schoff

James L. Schoff is a senior associate in Carnegie’s Asia Program. His research focuses on U.S.-Japan relations and regional engagement, Japanese politics and security, and the private sector’s role in Japanese policymaking.