Joanne Lin of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute said Japan is “less of a conduit and more of an anchor” as it carves out its own strategic space in Southeast Asia.
“While it still aligns closely with Washington on shared values and security, Japan has also deepened its direct engagement with Asean through infrastructure investment, green transition funding, and high-quality development cooperation.
“We can also see that Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision resonates with Asean because it emphasises important values like inclusivity, connectivity and non-confrontation,” she told FMT.
Lin added that Japan’s ability to engage Asean “without triggering geopolitical anxiety” has made it more acceptable as a regional player, especially amid shifting US engagement.
She also noted that Japan can support Asean centrality by “co-developing some sort of a regional norm”.
At a closed-door briefing in Tokyo, geopolitical and defence policy analyst Ken Jimbo of Keio University echoed similar sentiments, saying both sides can work together to coordinate rules and norms aligned with Japan’s Indo-Pacific strategy.
However, he said Japan’s growing regional profile is also due to Asean’s strategic importance to Tokyo.
“Asean is another medium for the Global South concept, which is also a quite important aspect of Japan’s strategy towards the world.
“That is an important aspect to pursue through what we call South-South Cooperation. For example, Japan-Indonesia cooperation on the Pacific Islands is important,” he said.
Jimbo also highlighted the historical foundation of Asean-Japan relations, rooted in the Fukuda Doctrine, which asserted that Japan would never become a military power and instead emphasised peaceful engagement with Southeast Asia.
“What allowed Japan to become an Asia-Pacific player was Asean. It wasn’t through South Korea or China, but through Asean.
“First, we became strategic partners. Then, being incorporated into regional frameworks led by Asean became a very important gateway for Japan to identify itself as an Asia-Pacific player,” Jimbo said.
He likened Japan’s post-war engagement with Asean to Germany’s reintegration into Europe through the European Union and Nato.
Jimbo also advocated for greater synergy between Japan’s FOIP strategy and the Asean Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), though he pointed to a lack of political will in Japan to make that happen.
“Are we in the mood to promote that kind of notion at this time? Not really, because there’s no enthusiasm from the (Japanese) prime minister, unfortunately.
“The only thing sustaining it is coming from the bureaucracy, which prefers continuity. So AOIP coordination processes should still be there, but real enthusiasm for these efforts has to come from the leadership – and that’s where I don’t see much appetite at the moment,” he told reporters.
Japan’s foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya is in Kuala Lumpur this week to meet his Asean counterparts on the sidelines of the 58th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.
The meeting between Asean and Japan reviewed progress under the Asean-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation under the Joint Vision Statement on Asean-Japan Friendship and Cooperation: Trusted Partners.