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Cambridge - Korea Foundation Special Seminar Series: Yoshihide Soeya

Title: How to sustain the positive feedback loop in Japan-ROK-U.S. trilateral cooperation

Speaker: Yoshihide Soeya (Professor Emeritus, Keio University)

Date and Time: 9 June 2025, 5pm - 6.30pm

Venue: Room 8/9, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge 

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Talk Summary: 

On August 13, 2023, a trilateral summit was held at Camp David, attended by KISHIDA Fumio, YOON Suk Yeol, and Joe Biden. At the summit, the leaders issued the “Spirit of Camp David,” which defined key areas of cooperation and significantly strengthened trilateral ties. Following the summit, trilateral cooperation steadily progressed through the end of 2024, including ministerial meetings, joint military exercises, and other engagements, resulting in the formalization of comprehensive trilateral collaboration. The most crucial factor behind these achievements was the improvement in Japan–South Korea relations. Improved Japan–South Korea ties enabled advances in trilateral security cooperation, which in turn further enabled bilateral security cooperation between Japan and South Korea, creating a virtuous cycle. However, the domestic political situations in the three countries have now shifted dramatically. It is unlikely that we can expect proactive initiatives at the leadership level. Some slowdown in the progress of cooperation may be unavoidable. Nevertheless, the achievements that have been built up must not be undone. Fortunately, the leaders of Japan, South Korea, and the U.S., as well as their publics, have not expressed strong opposition to trilateral cooperation. We may be entering a period in which strong determination and commitment at the working level will be essential. Crucially, the state of Japan–South Korea relations remains at the heart of preserving the positive feedback loop that underpins trilateral cooperation. 

About the Speaker:

Yoshihide SOEYA is Professor Emeritus of Keio University, from which he retired in March 2020 after serving as professor of political science at the Faculty of Law for 32 years. He received Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1987, majoring in world politics. Previously, Dr. Soeya served the “Korea-Japan Joint Research Project for the New Ear” (MOFA), the “Council on Security and Defense Capabilities in the New Era” (Prime Minister’s Office), the “Advisory Group on Ministerial Evaluations” (MOFA), the “Central Council on Defense Facilities” (Agency/Ministry of Defense), and the "Prime Minister's Commission on Japan's Goals in the 21st Century" (Prime Minister’s Office). His areas of interest are politics and security in East Asia, and Japanese diplomacy and its external relations. His recent publications in English include “Constitutional Revision Going Astray: Article Nine and Security Policy,” Helen Hardacre, et al., eds, Japanese Constitutional Revisionism and Civic Activism (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2021); "Middle Power Cooperation 2.0 in the Indo-Pacific Era," in Chien-Wen Kou, et al., eds., The Strategic Options of Middle Powers in the Asia-Pacific (London: Routledge, 2022); "Japan's Diplomacy toward China under the Abe Shinzo Administration," in James Brown, et al., eds., The Abe Legacy (MD: Lexington Books, 2021); and “The Rise of China in Asia: Japan at the Nexus,” in Asle Toje, ed., Will China’s Rise be Peaceful? (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018). 

This seminar is part of Cambridge - Korea Foundation Special Seminar Series, sponsored by the Korea Foundation.