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Michael Penn, Executive Director of the Shingetsu Institute for the Study of Japanese-Islamic Relations, discusses the (nearly) first electoral loss for Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party since 1955, the balance between Japanese resentment over U.S. troop presence and the security of military protection, Japanese energy policy in the Middle East and how warmer relations with China would mean reduced dependence on the U.S.

MP3 here. (24:37)

Michael Penn teaches at The University of Kitakyushu, and is Executive Director of the Shingetsu Institute for the Study of Japanese-Islamic Relations.