In Tokyo, SCSP President Ylli Bajraktari and VP for Global Affairs Joe Wang sat down with Taro KONO — former Foreign Minister, Defense Minister, and Digital Minister of Japan, and one of the most influential figures in the LDP — for a wide-ranging conversation on Japan’s place in a rapidly shifting world. The conversation covered four major themes shaping Japan’s strategic future: The Geopolitical Landscape: Kono traces how China’s rise changed everything — from its WTO accession to its island-building in the South China Sea — and why Japan will need more than just the U.S.-Japan security treaty alone to guarantee stability in East Asia. Trump, Beijing, and the Alliance: Kono offers a candid assessment of Trump’s Beijing visit, which may have embolded Xi to act more aggressively against Japan and others in the Indo-Pacific, and why coordinated allied policy vis-à-vis China is urgently needed. Japan’s Defense Transformation: From increasing defense spending and building a robust dom...