Free and Open Indo-Pacific: Anatomy of Japan’s Geostrategy

Join Professor Ken Jimbo, a leading expert in international security and regional strategy from Keio University, as he explores the evolution and strategic significance of Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision. The Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) has emerged as a central framework for regional order, rooted in Japan’s 2016 vision of connecting “two oceans and two continents.” How has this concept evolved from a diplomatic phrase into a widely shared strategic agenda?

 

Professor Jimbo argues Japan’s FOIP embodies a dual-track approach. Competitively, it seeks to maintain the U.S. presence, reinforce alliances, and expand minilateral frameworks such as the Quad and AUKUS. Cooperatively, it emphasizes geo-economic engagement through free trade, high-quality infrastructure, and resilient supply chains. Can these parallel strategies be sustained without deepening divisions or fueling rivalry?

 

The “New Plan for FOIP” (2023) added further dimensions: defending the rule of law, promoting inclusivity, addressing shared challenges such as food security and disaster response, enhancing multi-layered connectivity, and extending efforts from the maritime to the aerial domain. Yet does this broadened agenda risk becoming too diffuse, or does it represent Japan’s effort to balance values with pragmatism?

 

Ultimately, FOIP reflects Japan’s attempt to reconcile strategic competition with inclusive regionalism. The question remains: can FOIP endure as a framework for stability in an era of U.S.–China confrontation, and what role can partners such as Canada play in shaping this open, rules-based order?

 

Dr. Ken JIMBO is a Professor of International Relations at Keio University and a Managing Director of Programs at the International House of Japan (IHJ/I-House). He is concurrently an adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the Canon Institute for Global Studies (CIGS). He served as a Special Advisor to the Minister of Defense, Japan Ministry of Defense (2020) and Senior Advisor to the National Security Secretariat (2018-20).

 

His main research interests are in International Security, Japan-US Security Relations, and Japan’s Foreign and Defense Policy. He has been a policy advisor for various Japanese governmental commissions and research groups, including the National Security Secretariat, the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His policy writings have appeared in RAND Corporation, NBR, Stimson Center, Pacific Forum CSIS, Japan Times, Nikkei, Yomiuri, Asahi and Sankei Shimbun.

 

 

This event is part of The Japan Seminar Series, presented by the Centre for the Study of Global Japan and the Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto and co-sponsored by the Consulate-General of Japan in Toronto.