Dr. Madoka Fukuda analyzes the current state of Japan-Taiwan relations, explaining why relations have continued to develop despite rising Sino-Japanese tensions and improving cross-straits relations. In his presentation on Party Politics and Policy Change in Japan, Professor Chihiro Okawa discusses the changing political positions of leading politicians and the major political parties in Japan.
Dr. Toshihiro Nakayama, Professor of American Politics and Foreign Policy at Aoyama Gakuin University, served as discussant.
Pressured on the one hand by China for closer ties, and lured by shared interests with Japan on the other, Taiwan is often seen as caught between the two. Despite friction over historical and territorial issues, shared liberal and democratic values appear to promote this closer Tokyo-Taipei relationship.
