#20 Japan-France bilateral talks - Russia-Japan territorial dispute - mass race to produce semiconductors - U.S. marine’s drill in Japanese - IBM’s superior quantum computer - Cryptocurrency
Here is a brief on biweekly( 15th- 31st, July).
French President Emmanuel Macron was the only leader from the G7 nations to travel to Tokyo for the Olympics
The visit of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to the disputed island sparks protests in Japan
The United States of America has urged Japan to increase its cost to shoulder the presence of the American troops by the host nation support
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is eyeing building a chip plant in Japan
IBM has unveiled its first quantum computer for commercial applications in Japan, which is seen as a step towards countering China’s growing technological superiority
Foreign Affairs.
Japan-France bilateral talks: Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and French President Emmanuel Macron met when the latter had travelled to Tokyo to participate in the Olympics spectacle. It was notable as Macron was the only leader amongst the G7 nations to travel to Japan for the Olympics. The joint statement released after the meeting mentioned that Tokyo will pass on its experience for holding “safe & secure” Olympics to Paris for the 2024 Summer Games, increasing cooperation in realizing free and open Indo-Pacific, cooperation in fighting climate change among others. In recent times, France has been increasingly involved in multinational military drills in the East China Sea and Indo-Pacific region.
The territorial dispute between Japan and Russia: Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin visited the Russian-held island claimed as the Northern Territories in Japan. While speaking on the Russian Prime Minister’s visit, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said, “it hurts the feelings of people in Japan and does not contribute to Japan-Russia relations”. The disputed islands known as the Southern Kurils in Russia were seized by the Soviet Union with the surrender of Japan in World War II. A 1956 Russia-Japan declaration states that two of the four islands- Shikotan and the Habomai islet group will be handed over to Japan following the conclusion of a peace treaty. When Yoshihide Suga took office as the Prime Minister, discussions were held with his Russian counterpart Putin to promote territorial negotiations based on the 1956 joint declaration. The leaders are yet to meet.
Defence.
Japan’s host nation support for the American troops: The United States of America has urged Japan to increase its cost to shoulder the presence of the U.S. military in the Indo-Pacific region with the increasing maritime assertiveness of China. On the Japanese side, it is felt that the costs cannot be further raised but in turn, Japan is contributing towards strengthening bilateral security alliance including the developments in cyberspace and outer space where China is increasing its power. As per the bilateral host nation support agreement, Japan is to bear an expense of 201.7 billion yen for the 55,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in Japan including labour and utility costs. The usual five-year renewal pact was extended by only a year this time in fiscal 2021 as the bilateral talks were affected during U.S president Joe Biden’s transition of power. The expense shouldered by Japan for 2021 is around the same as the previous year.
U.S marines hold drills in Japanese: The U.S Marine Corps held drills with the Japanese Self-Defense Forces in Japan. The orders were in Japanese for the first time hoping for better partnership and interoperability. The U.S. Marines said, “they are learning and practising Japanese phrases that will help them share information at the tactical level on the battlefield with their Japanese counterparts to help us fight together as an integrated force.”
Japan urges Australia to consider joint military drills in the East China Sea: Japan’s Ambassador Shingo Yamagami called on the Australian government to consider joint military exercises to deepen cooperation in the East China Sea. He emphasised the importance for the two countries to lift their overall defence ties to “unprecedented” levels.
Japan-Britain defence talks: Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi and U.K. Defence secretary Ben Wallace held talks as Queen Elizabeth, British aircraft carrier and its strike group, will soon make a port visit in Japan in September. Speaking on the strike group’s visit, Wallace said, “Japan is Britain’s closest security partner in Asia with many shared values and common strategic interests”. He also mentioned Britain's plan to send two patrol ships “permanently” to the Indo-pacific region later this year. This signals its growing interest in the region. Recently a joint military drill was conducted in the Gulf of Aden, which saw the participation of the strike group of Queen Elizabeth, Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force destroyer Setogiri and P-3C patrol planes. The U.S. and Dutch vessels also participated in the exercise.
Economics.
Taiwan’s TSMC to build a chip plant in Kumamoto Prefecture: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is eyeing building a chip plant in the Kumamoto prefecture, southwestern Japan. The move comes in response to the efforts taken by the Japanese government to attract the world’s largest contract chipmaker to set up a factory in the country. It is anticipated that trade tensions between U.S.-China could disrupt the global supply chains of semiconductors. The digital industry strategy released by the Japanese government reveals that it is looking at possibilities to cooperate with foreign manufacturers and mass-produce advanced semiconductors. Japan aims to secure a stable supply of semiconductors as important for national security.
Japan’s energy plan will impact Australian gas exports: The recently revised draft of Japan’s energy mix revealed that the country intends to cut gas-fired electricity generation nearly in half and reduce coal power by more than a third by 2030. This will help Japan to be aligned with its goal of nearly 40% renewable energy by 2030 and net-zero emission by 2050. At the same time, this shift will impact Australia, which is Japan’s biggest market for liquefied natural gas(LNG). According to resource and energy data, Japan has been purchasing 37.9% of LNG and 36.5% of thermal coal from Australia.
Technology.
IBM’s quantum computer: IBM has unveiled its first quantum computer for commercial applications in Japan. This comes as a step forward in countering China’s growing technological superiority. Quantum computing is among one of the areas of cooperation discussed by Suga and Biden during the April summit and also has a massive future market.
To scope-in Crypto and digital assets in the digital trade agreement: The U.S.-Japan trade agreement that was signed in 2019 failed to include cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies. Two experts from a prominent think tank, Rand corporation writes in a blog post, “given that some of the earliest cryptocurrency markets began in Japan, and that many of the largest companies originate in the U.S., this decision was somewhat surprising”. They suggest that the time has come for the two countries to formulate a new agreement regulating the use of cryptocurrencies in international trade.
Titbit.
The Great wave, one of the most recognizable and reproduced artworks of all time, was created by the great Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai. His influence on the 19th-century European impression artists including Vincent Van Gogh was huge. The British Museum will be displaying more than a hundred unseen works of Hokusai from “The Great Picture Book of Everything” for the first time in two hundred years. The artist had created the drawings at a time when Japan had closed its borders and its contact with the outside world was limited. In “The Great Picture Book of Everything”, the artist Hokusai presents vignettes from Buddhist India, ancient China and the natural world.
An interesting opinion piece in The Hindu titled “Japanese education spells holistic development” throws light on Japan’s education system, especially of the elementary schools in building a human-centric society. It emphasises moving beyond gaining just academic prowess. The Japanese education model gives importance to developing non-cognitive elements in children, shaping social behaviour, finding solutions through experiential learning and independent thinking, and the idea of “collectivism” for building a collectivist society. It is time for us to learn from Japan to create a human-centric society with mindful and responsible citizens.