Volume 02, Number 24.

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Welcome again for another edition of the Japan Considered Podcast. This week our show runs a little longer than usual. Sorry about that. We take a close look at the bilateral summit meeting between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush, and the implications of that meeting for our understanding of Japan's domestic politics and international relations. Things are changing in Japan, and we have to recognize and understand those changes in order to manage the relationship from the U.S. side.

A discussion of "gai-atsu" emerged from our consideration of this important summit meeting. "Gai-atsu" simply means external, or foreign, pressure in Japanese. But what role has it played in the bilateral U.S.-Japan relationship? How have changes in Japan, and in the United States, changed the significance of gai-atsu, and the effectiveness of gai-atsu as a tool in the American diplomatic tool box?

Please visit the Japan Considered website at www.JapanConsidered.org for additional English language information on Japan's domestic politics and international relations. No new interviews yet, but I hope to have an interesting one to add in a week or so.