Japan¡¯s parliamentary debates resumed in earnest this week after the Golden Week holiday, during which Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s administration used the lull in domestic politics for a series of diplomatic engagements across Southeast Asia, Africa and Australia aimed at advancing its ¡°Free and Open Indo-Pacific¡± (FOIP) strategy.
The visits reflected Tokyo¡¯s effort to strengthen overlapping networks of economic and security cooperation across key middle power and ¡°Global South¡± partners to deal with growing geopolitical uncertainty.
Golden Week diplomacy is hardly new in Japanese politics, as the down period gives the administration a break from domestic political obligations to travel abroad for engagements. What differs across administrations is how effectively that time is used and toward what strategic purpose.
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