Renaissance, Reset, or Deluge? The Future of Japan-South Korea Relations under the Lee Jae-myung administration

As arguably the two most important U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific, Japan and South Korea’s ability to cooperate effectively shapes the regional balance of power, the longer viability and sustainability of the U.S. alliance system, and the prospects for managing China’s rise within a rules-based framework.

Professor Stephen

November 13, 2025

1–2 minutes

Read my full PDF commentary essay

North Korea Review (Fall 2025)Download

It was a great pleasure to join Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS-NUS)’ India in Asia series to talk about Indian and Japan: Two Asian Powers in a Changing Geopolitical Context. It reflected a joint paper/ project I am working on with Professor Laszlo Csicsmann of Corvinus Institute for Advanced Studies (CIAS)/Hungarian Institute of International Affairs (HIIA)

My Recent Media Interviews

Interview with BBC World News: Donald Trump’s visit to Japan

Interview with CNA on Japan-South Korea relations

Interview with CNN about Takaichi’s leadership

Interview with CNA: Takaichi seen leading conservative alliance focused on reform and stability

Interview with CNBC: Japan’s new Prime Minister Takaichi isn’t a China hawk, just pragmatic

Interview with Al Jazeera English: Takaichi becomes Japan’s first female prime minister

Interview with NewsX World about Takaichi’s policies and visions

Renaissance, Reset, or Deluge? The Future of Japan-South Korea Relations under the Lee Jae-myung administration

Japan and South Korea’s Complex Relations with China and the impact on Indo-Pacific Based Alliances in the Trump 2.0 Era

The significance of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Southeast Asia

Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and Opportunities for Interconnections with Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy

Yoon’s martial law order divides South Korea and may alter foreign policy direction

My interview with KBS WORLD Radio KOREA 24 on Japan-South Korea relations in the Trump 2.0 Era

Summit between US, Japan and South Korea

Impending fallout from Yoon’s political problems

Japan’s Place in Moderating the U.S.-China Strategic Competition in The Indo-Pacific

Japan’s Thatcher Moment – Can Takaichi Thread the Needle Between Trump and Xi?

Japan’s opposition coalition is a recipe for paralysis, not progress

Japan’s foreign policy faces uncharted waters

Japan’s Leadership Test: Beyond Personality Politics to Policy Imperatives

Japan must prepare for a post-American Indo-Pacific

Japan’s LDP Leadership Race – Why Today’s Candidates Fall Short of the Transformative Leadership Japan Needs

Japan Cannot Afford Another Period of Political Musical Chairs

Japan and India must anchor America in the Indo-Pacific

Japan’s New Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru Faces Internal, External Challenges in Lead-up to National Election

What the U.S.-China summit means for Japan

The Generational Divide Shaping How We Understand Japan

Will Takaichi become the prime minister Japan needs?

Interview with CNBC: Japan’s Takaichi will have to be ‘realistic’ about relationship with China

Author

Written by

Professor Stephen

Dr. Stephen Nagy is Professor of Politics and International Studies at the International Christian University, specializing in Indo-Pacific geopolitics and great power competition. He holds strategic appointments as Senior Fellow at the MacDonald Laurier Institute, Research Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, and Visiting Fellow at the Japan Institute for International Affairs. His expertise is further recognized through affiliations with the Institute for Security and Development Policy, the East Asia Security Centre, and the Research Institute for Peace and Security. From 2017-2020, he served as Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation. As Policy Studies Director for the Yokosuka Council of Asia Pacific Studies, Dr. Nagy leads the Indo-Pacific Policy Dialogue Series, and has contributed to regional business governance as a former Governor for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan. His academic credentials include previous tenure as Assistant Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (2009-2014) and a doctorate in International Relations from Waseda University (2008). Dr. Nagy’s funded research examines critical regional dynamics, including “Sino-Japanese Relations in the Wake of the 2012 Territorial Disputes” and “Perceptions and Drivers of Chinese Views on Japanese and US Foreign Policy.” His current work focuses on middle power strategies amid great power competition in the Indo-Pacific. His policy-relevant consulting portfolio encompasses CPTPP expansion analysis, online extremism assessment in Japan, Sino-Japanese economic relations, and trilateral US-Japan-China dynamics. A sought-after geopolitical analyst, Dr. Nagy provides strategic insights to governments, corporations, and media outlets. His scholarly contributions appear in peer-reviewed journals including China Perspectives, East Asia, and International Studies Review. His policy analyses feature in prestigious publications such as China Economic Quarterly and World Commerce Review, while his commentary regularly reaches audiences through Diamond OnLine, SCMP, East Asian Forum, and global media platforms including the New York Times, BBC, CNN, Japan Times, cNBC, and Al Jazeera.