Ep. 308: Tobias Harris on Why Japan Matters

Tobias Harris is the Founder and Principal of Japan Foresight LLC. He has observed Japan as a political risk analyst at Teneo Intelligence and as a researcher at universities and think tanks. He is also Senior Advisor for Japan at Aurora Macro Strategies. Tobias is the author of ‘The Iconoclast: Shinzō Abe and the New Japan’. In this podcast we discuss: 

• How Japan became key US ally since WW2  
• Why Japan shifted its view on its global role since 2000s 
• Abe Shinzo’s role in transforming Japan’s political system and centralising power 
• How Japan’s electoral reforms made Prime Minister more powerful 
• Abenomics Three Arrows: monetary easing, fiscal shifts, and statist structural reform 
• Ishiba’s divergence from Abe: focus on fiscal discipline and rural equity 
• Japan’s cautious trade strategy with the US and its pragmatic China engagement 
• Political outlook of Japan’s upper house elections and possible coalitions 
• Books mentioned: The Logic of Japanese Politics (Curtis), Machiavelli’s Children (Samuels) and works for following authors recommended: Haruki Murakami, Yukio Mishima, Yasunari Kawabata, and Sayaka Murata 

You can follow Tobias’ work here. 

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