Adam P. Liff

Sep 16, 2024 | brookings.edu | Adam P. Liff

Over the past decade, it has become increasingly common in U.S. foreign policy circles to identify Japan as America’s “indispensable ally.” And for good reason. From the urgent and shared need to counter-balance an increasingly assertive and powerful China to joint efforts to ensure resilient semiconductor supply chains, on a wide array of issues Japan is now widely seen as America’s most important partner in Asia, if not the world.

Feb 22, 2024 | brookings.edu | Adam P. Liff

Editor's note: This piece is part of the Taiwan-U.S. Quarterly Analysis series, which features the original writings of experts with the goal of providing a range of perspectives on developments relating to Taiwan. Over the past three years, concerns about a potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait have for the first time simultaneously emerged in Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) as a topic of mainstream policy discussions.

Jan 17, 2024 | brookings.edu | Richard Bush |Ryan Hass |Patricia M. Kim |Adam P. Liff

Home The impact of Taiwan’s election in 2024 and beyond In a closely watched election, Taiwan’s voters elected Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate and current Vice President Lai Ching-te over Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang (KMT) and Ko Wen-je of Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on January 13, 2024.

May 25, 2023 | adampliff.com | Adam P. Liff

My latest publication… a concise corrective to the widespread, but misleading, claims over the past six months that Japan has announced plans to *double* its defense spending (spoiler: it has not) …was just published *open-access (free)* on the Brookings Institution’s Order from Chaos blog. Please take a look!Link and suggested citation: Adam P. Liff, “No, Japan is not planning to ‘double its defense budget’,” Brookings Institution, May 22, 2023.

May 22, 2023 | brookings.edu | Adam P. Liff

Since Japan’s December 2022 release of three major national security documents calling for a “fundament reinforcement” of its defense capabilities, a historic pledge by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet to surge Japan’s long-stagnant defense budget — for decades unofficially pegged to 1% of GDP — has rightly attracted global attention. Indeed, it is likely to be the single most important enabler of Japan’s ambitious new national security and defense strategies.