EYDER PERALTA, HOST:
Japan is a, quote, "indispensable partner" in the face of Chinese military aggression. Those were the words of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Tokyo today, where he held talks with his Japanese counterpart. On his first official trip to Asia, the defense secretary has been seeking to reassure U.S. allies in the region who are worried about the Trump administration's fierce criticism of European partners.
Tomohiko Taniguchi was former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's foreign policy adviser. He is also a specially appointed professor at the University of Tsukuba. He joins us from Tokyo. Welcome to the program.
TOMOHIKO TANIGUCHI: Thank you very much for having me.
PERALTA: Was Japan's leadership reassured by what Secretary Hegseth told them today?
TOMOHIKO TANIGUCHI: I think so. More than reassured. That was actually the best kind of statement that Japanese leaders would have long wanted to hear from the U.S. SecDef.
PERALTA: In 2023, Japan's prime minister at the time said, today's Ukraine may be tomorrow's East Asia. How worried is Japan about conflict in the region?
TOMOHIKO TANIGUCHI: Japan is a neighbor - direct neighbor to Russia, North Korea and China. You shouldn't envy where Japan sits. And Japan cannot alone defend itself from these three nuclear-armed, non-democratic hostile nations. But the same thing can be said about the United States. Now is the time for the United States, more than ever, to have allies on its side, which is to say that the United States SecDef visited the Philippines, Manila, and then to Iwo Jima as a symbolic act to show to the world, and especially to the Chinese, that yesterday's foe is today's friend, and now the United States and Japan as a unit must work hard to defend the Indo-Pacific region from Chinese aggression.
PERALTA: So you were an adviser to the former prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who was a strong proponent of working with allied countries to keep China's power in check. Now, with the Trump administration punishing enemies and allies alike, should Japan moderate its stance on China?
TOMOHIKO TANIGUCHI: Given the fact that Japanese industries like Toyota, Nissan have huge stakes in China, one has to always strike a very good balance between China and Japan's own national interests. That said, the most important national interest lies in its security. And the Chinese military aggression is so obvious and paramount that now is the high time for Japan to invest further into its allied relationships with the United States, the Philippines and possibly South Korea and Australia.
PERALTA: So it doesn't sound like you think softening a stance on China is the right move right now?
TOMOHIKO TANIGUCHI: Absolutely not. It is - from the Chinese side, the envelope is being pushed daily to provoke Japanese sovereign territories, sovereign waters and sovereign airspace. And the same goes with the Chinese and the Filipino relationship as well. So on the economic side, you have to pursue balanced approach towards China. But when it comes to national security, there is very little room for you to compromise.
PERALTA: Let's talk about the leaders of some of the countries you mentioned. They depend heavily on the U.S. military, like the Philippines, South Korea. When you speak with diplomats from those countries, how are they feeling?
TOMOHIKO TANIGUCHI: I think the visits that SecDef Hegseth made to Manila and to Japan have sent a reassuring sort of message across the region, and those leaders, not only from the Philippines, Japan, but also from the ASEAN nations like Singapore and Indonesia, are having a fresh second look at how determined the United States is now, vis-a-vis China and in the region.
PERALTA: President Trump has suggested that countries like South Korea and Japan could pay more for U.S. troops to be there. Is that an unreasonable ask?
TOMOHIKO TANIGUCHI: The Japanese have spent a huge amount of money to cover the expenses of the U.S. military personnel already, but the alliance that Japan has is priceless. The Japanese leaders must be innovative to find further room to help support the U.S. personnel stationed in Japan.
PERALTA: President Trump is also putting tariffs that are likely to hit Japan and South Korea hard and have a ripple effect across Asia. I would imagine that this is eroding confidence in the relationship between the U.S. and its allies.
TOMOHIKO TANIGUCHI: That's true. There are growing concerns and anxieties about tariffs. It is incumbent upon the leaders of these nations must rely even more going forward on the U.S. commitment that you must look at a broader picture. And after all, tariffs, seen from the president's perspective, are supposed to make America great again. And for the Japanese perspective, for the South Koreans and for the Filipinos perspective as well, a great America is the one that we wish to have, the one that we have longed for in this age of Chinese aggression.
PERALTA: That's Tomohiko Taniguchi, a former foreign policy adviser to Japan's prime minister. Thank you for joining us, Professor.
TOMOHIKO TANIGUCHI: You're welcome. Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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