In Tokyo, SCSP President Ylli Bajraktari and Senior Director for Foreign Policy 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. Kono traces how China's rise changed everything, offers a candid read on Trump's Beijing visit and what it signaled to Tokyo, lays out Japan's path toward higher defense spending and a domestic defense industry, and reflects on his time as Digital Minister — from AI in government to drone warfare and why he sees a "quad plus" technology alliance, not sovereign AI, as the way forward.
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 domestic defense industry, Kono lays out the path Japan must take to shoulder more of its own security burden.
AI, Autonomy, and Japan’s Digital Future: Kono reflects on his time as Digital Minister, Japan’s demographic crisis driving AI adoption in government, the rise of drone warfare, and why Japan sees a “quad plus” technology alliance as the realistic path forward.