Lecture
Shaping the Indo-Pacific: Japan’s Grand Strategy and Competition with China
- Date
- Wednesday 9 September 2026
- Time
- Series
- Leiden Lecture Series in Japanese Studies
- Location
-
Lipsius
Cleveringaplaats 1
2311 BD Leiden - Room
- 1.47
Abstract
This seminar examines Japan’s Indo-Pacific grand strategy through the lens of historical institutionalism, with particular attention to competition with China in the East China Sea. It draws on the co-authored book with Saori Katada, Japan’s Grand Strategy: Liminal Power in an Uncertain World. The seminar argues that Japan’s contemporary strategy should not be understood simply as a response to China’s rise. Rather, it reflects a longer process of institutional adaptation through which Japan has sought to preserve and shape a regional order favorable to its security, autonomy, and diplomatic influence. Competition with China is an important component of Japan’s order-building agenda, but not its sole purpose. The East China Sea illustrates this distinction. The territorial dispute over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands is a specific sovereignty issue, whereas broader Sino-Japanese competition encompasses maritime presence, economic security, and the norm-building/rule-making in the Indo-Pacific. By identifying the differences and overlaps between territorial rivalry and wider strategic competition, the seminar shows how Japan has gradually expanded its policy toolkit beyond deterrence and crisis management. It also examines how the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) has consolidated earlier institutional developments by linking alliance cooperation, maritime security, capacity-building, and rule-based regional order-building. The seminar concludes by assessing the limits of Japan’s approach and its implications for managing competition with China without reducing the Indo-Pacific to a simple balancing strategy.
About the speaker
Kei Koga is Associate Professor and Head of Division in the Public Policy and Global Affairs Programme at the School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He is also a Nonresident Fellow at the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) in the United States and a member of the Research Committee at Japan’s Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS). His research focuses on international security, regional institutions, particularly ASEAN, and East Asian and Indo-Pacific security. He previously held research positions, including the Wilson Center, CSIS, and Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center. He received his PhD in International Relations from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. His recent publications include Japan’s Grand Strategy: Liminal Power in an Uncertain World (Oxford University Press, 2026), co-authored with Saori Katada.