Vivekananda International Foundation | Seeking Harmony in Diversity

Japan’s Engagement with ASEAN: Economic Dimension - Part I

Introduction There are certain issues evolving in the Indo-Pacific region that are driving Japan to be drawn closer to the countries of the ASEAN grouping. The most striking example of the driver that pulls both Japan and the ASEAN closer stems...

November 14 , 2023

Will Kishida go for a snap election in Japan?

Amid speculation that Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida might call for a snap election, the news of fissures in the LDP-Komeito alliance would not be a welcome prospect for the future of Japanese politics. The speculation emerged following a...

June 15 , 2023

Fumio Kishida’s Five-nation Tour: An Assessment

After adopting a path-breaking measure to rearm Japan in December 2022 in the wake of North Korean threat and China’s belligerence, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida undertook a six-day, five nation tour starting with 8 January 2023 that took him...

February 2 , 2023

Fresh Challenges for Kishida as Upper House Elections are held on 10 July

With less than a year in office, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida now confronts domestic political challenge when the country’s Upper House goes to the polls on 10 July in which his ruling coalition government expects to get a majority, which...

July 6 , 2022

Challenges that Confront South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol

Yoon Suk-yeol assumed the office of South Korea’s new President on 10 May and had barely settled into his new role when he found himself at the centre of an ongoing tug of war between the US and China. In a smart move, China sent Vice-President Wang...

May 18 , 2022

Fresh Challenge from North Korea with ICBM launch

Introduction On 24 March 2022, North Korea ended a self-imposed moratorium on testing long range missiles and launched a new kind of ICBM for the first time since 2017. The launch was seen as a challenge and to assess South Korea’s President-elect...

April 13 , 2022

Kishida in Cambodia: Seeking Convergences of interests to counter China

Cambodia as the ASEAN Chair has been attracting attention of some important countries such as the US and Japan, both of which have shown increased willingness to work together with Cambodia in the interest of regional peace and stability. This new...

April 1 , 2022

Fumio Kishida’s Visit to India: Major Takeaways

The Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida paid a two-day official visit to India on 19-20 March 2022 for the annual India-Japan Annual Summit with his Indian counterpart Narendra Damodardas Modi. This was Kishida’s first visit to India as Prime...

March 29 , 2022

Deterring China from the South China Sea

In the wake of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine and the strong response from the West, the world’s focus has shifted more towards China, how it behaves in the new situation. As global politics are being reset with shifting priorities by...

March 21 , 2022

Russia-Ukraine Crisis and Japan’s Response

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special military operation, seen as an invasion by the world, is an unprecedented event that has shaken the world. Though geopolitical and strategic considerations drove Putin to take this measure, his actions have...

March 8 , 2022