The upcoming visit by President Joe Biden to Hiroshima should help promote global momentum toward nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, a former U.S. ambassador to Japan says.
Two factors have driven the debate over the planned U.S. military realignment in Japan: campaign pledges made by the Democratic Party of Japan and complaints from Okinawans about the presence of the U.S. military. These factors have had a particularly strong impact on efforts to preserve the Marine Corps Air Station on Okinawa. However, other critical factors national interests, regional threats, and the U.S.–Japan alliance’s military requirements are absent from the discussion over the station’s scheduled relocation from Futenma to a more remote locale. The Obama Administration should continue to press Japan for implementation of the military realignment agreement. It is past time for Tokyo to jettison its passive consensus-building approach and take more assertive steps.
Japan s venture capital industry has grown to unprecedented prominence. Fueled by increasing social legitimacy and support from the Kishida administration, Japan s venture capital is poised to drive the startup ecosystem to the next level.