Tokyo and Taliban 2.0: Gauging Japan’s Political Stake in Kabul
September 20, 2021
Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr. Jagannath Panda’s article on ‘Tokyo and Taliban 2.0: Gauging Japan’s Political Stake in Kabul’ has been published as Focus Asia: Perspectives & Analyses at the Institute for Security and Development Policy, Stockholm.
The paper argues that Tokyo’s perspective on the Taliban is a critical chapter in Japan’s evolving approach to upholding ‘peace’ and ‘security’ in its post-war foreign policy thinking. Despite not being an immediate or major security provider in Afghanistan, Tokyo is a significant stakeholder as a major economic actor in the region and the country. Nevertheless, Japan’s outlook and stance vis-à-vis Taliban remains invariably dependent upon its national interests, alliance partnership with the US, and its ever-growing strategic rivalry with China.
