Ukraine crisis reinforces need for an economic security strategy

COMMENTARY / Japan

Ukraine crisis reinforces need for an economic security strategy

Japan’s leaders must better understand risks inherent with the globalized production process

To alleviate German and European concerns, Russia insists it would never weaponize its energy exports. But last year, Moscow reduced exports to Moldova to win geopolitical concessions. | POOL / VIA REUTERS

By Brad Glosserman

Feb 1, 2022

If the headline for this article was merely clickbait, it surely should read “Japan is behind the Ukraine crisis.”

While there are facts that connect Japan to the standoff in Eastern Europe, I assume that my editors will use a less incendiary tone when they publish this. The 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident shaped Germany’s energy policy and Berlin’s decisions now influence Europe’s response to the evolving situation. But blaming Japan is still a stretch.

Germany’s current position underscores the importance of a national economic security strategy. Governments must be more attuned to threats posed by new economic linkages and ways in which they can reduce their vulnerabilities and protect their countries. But a real strategy has to be more than buzzwords — “resilience” tops the list these days — and political cover for bureaucratic power grabs. There is too much at stake for such documents to be public relations exercises.