My latest publication… a short(ish) ~2200-word analysis of prospects for a Japanese analogue to the U.S.’ landmark 1979 Taiwan Relations Act (an idea sometimes referred to as a 日本版・台湾関係法) … is now available online at the Wilson Center’s Asia Dispatches blog.

This piece began as a critical reaction to the latest round of reporting that “Japan lawmakers want ‘Taiwan Relations Act’ of their own”–reporting that, IMHO, often lacks very important context crucial for any sound judgment about how likely (read: politically feasible) such legislation actually is. The particular February 2021 Nikkei article that prompted this piece also claimed that a “2-plus-2 dialogue among the foreign and defense ministers of Japan and Taiwan” is being discussed in Tokyo. Needless to say, if either a “Japan TRA” or a Cabinet-level, inter-governmental security dialogue were to actually be realized it would be a very big deal.

Call me skeptical… (on analytical, not necessarily normative, grounds).

You can read my analysis on the Wilson Center blog (*open access*) by clicking the link below. Suggested citation:

Adam P. Liff, “A ‘Taiwan Relations Act’ for Japan?,” Asia Dispatches (Wilson Center), February 25, 2021.