"Stepping Up (is hard to do?) Japan’s Contributions to the Liberal Democratic Order"

Japan seems to have adapted well to the Trump administration, with successful “Trump management” by the government officials. Trump management is not enough, however. Japan will have to step up and do more to preserve the liberal democratic order, which now lacks leadership from Washington. This will mean a role reversal for Japan. Rather than being the beneficiary of a liberal order led by the United States, it now must do everything it can to save that order, and keep the U.S. from withdrawing from it altogether. Hikotani examines Japan’s efforts so far, with attention to what Japan is trying to achieve under the slogan of “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy”, the challenges ahead, as well as the limitations.

Takako Hikotani is Gerald L. Curtis Associate Professor of Modern Japanese Politics and Foreign Policy at Columbia University. Her article "Trump's Gift to Japan" (Foreign Affairs, October '17) has spurred debate about the impact of the Trump presidency on U.S.-Japan relations.

Hikotani previously taught at the National Defense Academy of Japan, where she was Associate Professor, and lectured at the Ground Self Defense Force and Air Self Defense Force Staff Colleges, and the National Institute for Defense Studies. Her research focuses on civil-military relations and Japanese domestic politics, Japanese foreign policy, and comparative civil-military relations. Publications (in English) include, "Japan’s New Executive Leadership: How Electoral Rules Make Japanese Security Policy" (with Margarita Estevez-Abe and Toshio Nagahisa), in Frances Rosenbluth and Masaru Kohno eds., Japan in the World (Yale University Press, 2009) and "Civilian Control and Civil-Military Gaps in the United States, Japan, and China" (with Peter Feaver and Shaun Narine), Asian Perspective 29:1, March 2006. She advised and appeared in the PBS Wide Angle program, “Japan’s About Face,” July 8, 2008. She was a Visiting Professional Specialist at Princeton University as Social Science Research Council/Abe Fellow (2010-2011), as well as a Suntory Foundation Torii Fellow (2000-2001), and Fellow of the US-Japan Leadership Program, US-Japan Foundation (2000- ).  Professor Hikotani received her BA from Keio University, MAs from Keio University and Stanford University, and PhD in Political Science from Columbia University, where she was a President’s Fellow.