In a remarkable development in the Indo-Pacific political puzzle, on August 20 this year Japan and India held a 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi in which the foreign and defense ministers of both countries took part. It was the third meeting of its kind, the first of which took place in New Delhi in November 2019. The original decision to create this bilateral platform was taken following a series of reciprocal visits by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart at the time, Shinzo Abe.

On August 14 of this year, Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida announced that he will not run for head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party at the end of the three-year term provided for in the party’s charter. This is a remarkable event in the current life of the country.

During the summer of 2024, Japan sharply intensified its foreign policy in its most important aspects, particularly on China and Pacific states. In our opinion, this intensification and some improvements in Japanese relations with China are primarily related to balancing its military and political activities with Western countries. On the one hand, Japan is building up its own defence potential and strengthening various multilateral formats in the field of security; on the other hand, it is trying to reduce tension in relations with China.

In July 2024, Japan sharply intensified its foreign policy in the most important areas, particularly regarding strengthening relations with the countries of the collective West, split into three aspects: US, South Korean and European. Japan has focused on defence cooperation with its allies in both bilateral and multilateral formats (IP4, AUKUS+, NATO, the Seoul-Washington-Tokyo axis, etc.).

July of this year saw a multitude of noteworthy events along the line of Japanese foreign policy. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa visited Europe again. She did so ‘again’, as she visited Europe only two and a half months earlier together with her boss, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

At the end of June, the Japanese imperial couple paid a seven-day visit to the United Kingdom. Some aspects of this event and a number of accompanying political events in Japan, which is becoming one of the most important participants in the current stage of the “Great World Game”, are undoubtedly of interest…

The participants in the trilateral summit discussed ways to promote cooperation in six specific areas: economy and trade, sustainable development (including the response to climate change), healthcare, science and technology, disaster management and security, and exchange programs…

Li Qiang, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, arrived in Seoul around noon. This was his first visit to the country since taking office in March 2023. Lee and Yoon’s first meeting, in September 2023, took place in Indonesia on the margins of the ASEAN summit…

A three-party summit between South Korea, Japan and China was held on May 26-27, 2024. On the first day of the event, South Korea’s President Yoon Seok-yeol held separate bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Premier of the State Council of China Li Qiang, followed by a trilateral meeting, the announcement of a joint statement, and, on the next day, a business forum…

After a hiatus of more than three years, the PRC-Japan-Republic of Korea trilateral configuration resumed its work in Seoul at the end of May this year. However, its prospects remain unclear due to the extremely complex political environment in the East Asian region. On 26-27 May, the capital of the Republic of Korea, Seoul, hosted a series of summit meetings with the participation of Chinese Prime Ministers Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida…

After more than a 3-year hiatus, Seoul hosted the China-Japan-South Korea trilateral summit on May 26-27, which became a remarkable event in the overall transformation process taking place in East Asia. This event organically fit into a series of previous and subsequent equally significant developments occurring in this region…

In April and early May this year, Japan was particularly active in the current phase of the “Great World Game”. This, by the way, is further proof of the fact that Tokyo has returned to the global game table (after the catastrophe of 1945) as one of the most important participants in all that is happening on it today. Let us recall the state visit of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the United States in the first half of April.