Taiwan’s Security and the US-Japan Alliance: An Interview with Representative Yasutaka Nakasone

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent comment about what the security of Taiwan means for Japan has made headlines. Meanwhile, many governments, including the United States, are increasingly concerned about peace and stability around Taiwan and what China’s growing militarism could mean for the Indo-Pacific. 

Yasutaka Nakasone, representative in Japan’s lower house for the first district of Gunma Prefecture and a member of the Liberal Democratic Party Youth Division, leads unofficial communications between Japan and Taiwan. His family, including former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, has a close connections to the island nation.

After visiting Taiwan twice this year, Representative Nakasone will join Hudson to discuss the US-Japan alliance, how Washington and Tokyo should think about a Taiwan contingency, ways Japan and Taiwan can increase cooperation, and what Japan should do to bolster its own defense capabilities.

This is the third installment in a series of Hudson events with prominent Japanese politicians looking at Japan and Taiwan. You can find the past events here:

• Shinzo Abe’s Taiwan Legacy
• An Interview with Representative Keisuke Suzuki on the Future of Japan-Taiwan Relations