Fumio Kishida, prime minister of Japan, 2021-24, used to ask: Is Today's Ukraine Tomorrow's East Asia? The threat perceptions have dramatically deteriorated since February 2022 when Russia started its aggression against Ukraine. The polls indicate the Japanese people are increasingly concerned about its own security which the return of Mr Trump to the White House has further exacerbated. While there is certain validity in their worries, we must examine the concrete contexts in which Japan's security could possibly be challenged, in particular the Taiwan contingencies. The paper in its final analysis points to the double necessity of reinforcing Japan's power to deny and of addressing the security dilemma in the medium-to long term.
Ken Endo (遠藤 乾) is Chair & Professor of International Politics, Faculty of Law, The University of Tokyo, since April 2022. Formerly he was Professor of International Politics, School of Law (as well as Dean of the Graduate School of Public Policy), Hokkaido University, Sapporo for decades. He is also Adjunct Fellow, Japan Institute for International Affairs, Tokyo, Japan.
After obtaining MA (cum laude) in European Studies at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, he obtained a D.Phil in Politics at St Antony's College, University of Oxford, in 1996. The subsequent appointments include: Emiel Noel Fellow, Harvard Law School (2000-01), Visiting Professor & Japan Chair, Sciences po, Paris (2005 & 2010), Visiting Professor, National Chengchi University (2008, 18), Fernand Braudel Senior Fellow, European University Institute (2009-10), Visiting Professor, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing (2015), Visiting Fellow, Ifri, Paris (2017), Taiwan MOFA fellow (2018).
His main publications are: The Presidency of the European Commission under Jacques Delors: The Politics of Shared Leadership (Macmillan/St. Martin’s, 1999) and The End of Integration – The realities and implications of the European Union (Iwanami, 2013, in Japanese), for which he was awarded the Yomiuri-Chuo Koron Yoshino Sakuzo prize in 2014. His recent book focused on the European Complex Crisis (Chuo-koron, 2016, in Japanese). He edited two tomes in Japanese: A History of European Integration (Nagoya UP, 2008), A Documentary History of European Integration: Documents and Commentaries (Nagoya UP, 2008). His recent publications also include: The Frontiers of Global Governance (Toshindo, 2008); History and Thought of Global Governance (Yuhikaku, 2010); Sovereignty at the Present Times (Chikuma, 2019). Professor Endo served as one of the two commissioning editors of Iwanami’s 8 vols (c100 articles), on Japanese security (2014-15).
Professor Endo is successively a member of study groups at Japan’s MOFA’s policy planning unit (2012-13, 2013-14). He also works as a member of 1.5-truck Japan-Korea policy dialogue (2012-) and organizes similar events on Sino-Japanese relations, in cooperation with the MOFA. Since 2015 he sits on the MOFA’s policy evaluation committee and from 2017 on leads a project on Europe at Japan Institute of International Affairs. Active in engaging in wider civic forums, Prof. Endo is a founding member of Hokkaido Dialogue, where civic leaders from Japan, China, South Korea and Taiwan discuss common problematiques.
遠藤 乾
東京大学法学部教授（国際政治）／日本国際問題研究所客員研究員
北海道大学法学部卒業、北海道大学大学院法学研究科修士課程修了、ベルギー・カトリック・ルーヴァン大学大学院修士課程修了、オックスフォード大学博士課程修了（政治学博士）。北海道大学法学部助手、同講師、同助教授を経て、2006年より北海道大学公共政策大学／法学部教授。他、欧州大学研究所ジャンモネ研究員、欧州大学院フェルナン・ブローデル上級研究員、パリ政治学院・東京大学・対外経済貿易大学・国立政治大学客員教授等を歴任。専門はEU、安全保障、国際政治。
著書に、『欧州複合危機－苦悶するEU、揺れる世界』（中公新書、2016年）、『統合の終焉―ＥＵの実像と論理』（岩波書店、2013年）(読売中央公論・吉野作造賞受賞、2014年)、The Presidency of the European Commission under Jacques Delors: The Politics of Shared Leadership (Macmillan/St Martin’s, 1999) 、編著に、『ヨーロッパ統合史』『原典ヨーロッパ統合史――史料と解説』（名古屋大学出版会、2008年）、『グローバル・ガバナンスの最前線――現在と過去のあいだ』（東信堂、2008年）、『グローバル・ガバナンスの歴史と思想』（有斐閣、2010年）、『主権はいま』（筑摩書房、2019年）。岩波書店『シリーズ日本の安全保障』（全８巻）（2014-2015）編者。
2012年より日本外務省政策企画ユニット研究会メンバーを務めたほか、日韓1.5トラック政策対話メンバーであり、日中間の政策対話を組織した。2015年より外務省政策評価委員、2017～22年、日本国際問題研究所で欧州情勢に関する研究会主査を務めた。より広い市民のフォーラムへも積極的に関与し、日本・中国・韓国・台湾の識者・実務家が集う北海道ダイアログの創設メンバー。