Publisher's Note

February, 2009

AJISS Commentary aims to present a variety of Japanese views on international relations to international intellectuals interested in Japanese external policy. For these purposes, AJISS-Commentary invites a wide range of Japanese thinkers and practitioners to express their views.

Three leading Japanese think tanks have joined forces to form The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies (AJISS) to publish AJISS-Commentary.
The institutes are:

NPINakasone Yasuhiro Peace Institute

JIIAThe Japan Institute of International Affairs (Secretariat)

RIPSResearch Institute for Peace and Security

Editorial Advisory Board:
  Akio Watanabe (Chair)
  Ichiro Fujisaki
  Masashi Nishihara
  Kenichiro Sasae

Editorial Committee:
  Tsutomu Kikuchi
  Fumiaki Kubo
  Tsuyoshi Sunohara
  Shujiro Urata and
  Yasunori Nakayama

AJISS-Commentary is an occasional op-ed type publication. The views expressed are the authors' own and should not be attributed to The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies.


Kenichiro Sasae
Online Publisher, AJISS-Commentary
President, The Japan Institute of International Affairs