The Hudson Institute, a leading U.S. think tank, published a commentary titled “The Future of Japan’s Foreign Policy” contributed by Shigeru Ishiba, the new president of the Liberal Democratic Party, on its website on Sept. 27. 

On the issue of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, Ishiba advocated a revision of the document and wrote, “The time is ripe to change this ‘asymmetrical bilateral treaty.’”

The institute introduced Ishiba as “the next prime minister of Japan.”

According to sources, Ishiba submitted the commentary around Sept. 26, before the Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election was held.

In his commentary, Ishiba also stressed the need to revise the Status of Forces Agreement governing the presence of U.S. troops in Japan.

He also presented the idea of stationing the SDF in the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, arguing that “If this happens, a status agreement for the ‘SDF in Guam’ could be made the same as that for U.S. forces in Japan.”

He also mentioned the establishment of an Asian NATO.

“The Asian version of NATO must also specifically consider America’s sharing of nuclear weapons or the introduction of nuclear weapons into the region,” he wrote.

Ishiba’s commentary can be read here: https://www.hudson.org/politics-government/shigeru-ishiba-japans-new-security-era-future-japans-foreign-policy