Korea Policy
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Korea Policy Vol. 1, Issue 2About Korea Policy
Korea Policy is the premier journal for analysis and commentary on developments affecting the U.S.-South Korea alliance. Bridging scholarly insight and policy relevance, Korea Policy features original research and expert perspectives on strategic, political, economic, and other issues shaping Korea’s role in the world. In this way, KEI aims to inform academic debate, guide policy discussions, and foster a deeper understanding of the important partnership between the United States and South Korea. Contributions come from leading scholars, practitioners, and emerging voices across various fields.
Korea Policy is an open-source academic journal commissioned, edited, and published by the Korea Economic Institute of America in Washington, D.C
Japan’s Indo-Pacific Strategy predates that of the U.S. In fact, Abe Shinzo gets credit for envisioning it as early as 2007, during his first brief tenure as prime minister. When he returned to office in December 2012, he revitalized the effort to actualize his vision as the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” (FOIP) strategy and began to institutionalize it, securing support from the United States, Australia, and most critically, India. After he left office in 2020, his Indo-Pacific strategy had the full support of his successors, Suga Yoshihide and Kishida Fumio, each of whom added their own touches to Abe’s vision. This article examines what drove Abe’s approach to the Indo-Pacific and how it evolved first under Suga and then Kishida. It then reflects on how the Japanese view the Biden approach, followed by a preliminary comparison between the Biden and Kishida approaches as of early 2023 for the similarities and differences in their thinking.