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Taku Tamaki

Lecturer in International Relations, Loughborough University

Taku Tamaki is a Lecturer in International Relations, specialising in the international political dynamics of the Asia-Pacific region. After gaining his PhD at Aberystwyth, he was Research Fellow at the Institute of Asian Cultural Studies at International Christian University in Tokyo, and taught International Relations at Plymouth before moving to Loughborough in 2007. He has taught a wide range of courses on international politics and international political economy, including International Relations Theory, the United Nations and International Organisations, The Asia-Pacific in Global Politics, and the International Political Economy of the Asia-Pacific Region.

Having spent four years as a US Treasuries broker at Cantor Fitzgerald (Tokyo office), he brings first-hand experience of political economy to the classroom, having experienced the market turmoil immediately following the announcement of the collapse of Barings Bank in 1995.

Taku is interested in applying the concepts of International Relations and Social Theory to the international political-economic dynamics of the Asia-Pacific region. His main focus is on Japanese foreign policy in East Asia, spanning both Tokyo’s diplomatic- and economic relations with Asia and the US.

His current research investigates the images of Asia in contemporary Japanese foreign- and economic policy pronouncements. Here, he explores how policy elites understand and explain Asia as both a threat and opportunity—an interpretation that transcends both the past and present. He is also looking into Japan’s soft power projection in Western Europe, researching on the way Japanese government perceives its political- and economic activities in the EU and the UK.

He has published in leading journals in international relations and the international politics of the Asia-Pacific, including The Pacific Review, International Relations, and the International Relations of the Asia-Pacific.

Global Geopolitics Series

Caught between Trump and Kim, Japan is nervous and alone

Sep 11, 2017 14:53 pm UTC| Insights & Views

North Koreas nuclear test, by far its largest, came less than a week after it test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile that flew over northern Japan, triggering a national text-message system known as the...

Japan has turned its culture into a powerful political tool

Apr 26, 2017 07:49 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Much has been made of Japans recent turn away from pacifism and growing military muscle, but Tokyo is also extending its global reach in more subtle ways. Japan is especially serious about increasing its soft power, the...

An ageing emperor steps down – and leaves Japan at an awkward crossroads

Aug 10, 2016 15:42 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Emperor Akihitos recent statement to the Japanese nation had been anticipated for some time, but it was nonetheless a startling moment. Akihito refrained from uttering the a-word, but the message was clear: he wants to...

Obama's Hiroshima visit was hugely momentous – and bitterly ironic

May 27, 2016 16:03 pm UTC| Insights & Views

After accepting an invitation from the Japanese government, Barack Obama has become the first sitting president of the US to visit Hiroshima, the site of the first ever atomic bombing. Speaking in front of the Hiroshima...

Economy

RBA Hikes Interest Rate to 4.60% as Inflation Risks Rise

The Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates by 25 basis points on Tuesday, taking borrowing costs to their highest level in nearly 15 years as policymakers respond to persistent inflation and rising energy prices....

Asian Stocks Fall as Bond Yields and Oil Prices Surge

Asian stock markets fell broadly on Tuesday as surging U.S. Treasury yields, elevated oil prices and renewed pressure on technology shares dampened investor sentiment. Markets also awaited the Reserve Bank of Australias...

Asian Currencies Mixed as Yen Weakens, RBA Hike Looms

Asian currencies traded mixed on Tuesday, with the Japanese yen weakening toward recent lows as investors weighed intervention risks and the Bank of Japans policy outlook. The U.S. dollar remained near a two-month high,...

Gold Holds Near Seven-Week Low as Fed Rate Hike Bets Rise

Gold prices stabilized near a seven-week low on Tuesday after plunging 4% in the previous session, as elevated oil prices, rising U.S. Treasury yields and expectations for further Federal Reserve rate hikes continued to...

U.S. Stock Futures Steady as AI, Rate Concerns Weigh

U.S. stock futures were little changed Monday evening after Wall Street fell under pressure from elevated Treasury yields, concerns about slowing artificial intelligence development and persistent geopolitical tensions...

Politics

Polymarket Traders Bet on Trump AI Rename to ‘Super Intelligence’

Polymarket traders are betting on whether President Donald Trump will formally rename artificial intelligence as super intelligence, after he publicly called for the terminology change and federal officials began adopting...

Tim Scott Blames Democrats as CLARITY Act Stalls in Senate

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott criticized Democrats after the U.S. Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act, arguing the stalled crypto legislation represented a missed opportunity to establish clearer rules...

White House Blames Democrats as CLARITY Act Stalls

The White House and Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis have blamed Senate Democrats for the CLARITY Acts failure to advance, escalating partisan tensions over landmark U.S. cryptocurrency legislation. The Senate voted 49-50...

US Troops Set to Complete Iraq Withdrawal as Iran Influence Grows

US forces are expected to withdraw from their remaining bases in Iraq by Wednesday, completing a departure agreed in 2024 and raising concerns over Irans expanding influence and the potential resurgence of Islamic State....

Malaysia Begins Deportation of 1,500 Myanmar Nationals

Malaysia began deporting about 1,500 Myanmar nationals on Tuesday under a repatriation programme that has drawn objections from the United Nations and human rights organisations over safety concerns in conflict-hit...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Anthropic Targets $2 Trillion Valuation in Planned IPO

Anthropic is preparing for a highly anticipated initial public offering that could value the artificial intelligence company at more than $2 trillion, putting investor enthusiasm for the booming AI sector and its massive...

Samsung Invests $1 Billion in KKR’s Helix AI Infrastructure

Samsung Electronics and five affiliates are investing a combined $1 billion in Helix Digital Infrastructure, a new artificial intelligence infrastructure company backed by investment firm KKR, as Samsung expands deeper...

CSL Partners With AWS to Bring AI Into Drug Research

CSL has entered into a partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to integrate artificial intelligence and cloud computing across its research and clinical development operations, aiming to accelerate drug discovery and...

OpenAI Scraps GPT-6.1 Astra Launch Over Safety Concerns

OpenAI has canceled the planned release of GPT-6.1 Astra after internal testing raised concerns about the artificial intelligence models safety, alignment and ability to stay within authorized boundaries. The...

Pi Network Price Holds $0.087 as Protocol 28 Mainnet Upgrade Nears

Pi Network price traded around $0.0886 on September 28 as investors looked ahead to the Protocol 28 Mainnet upgrade scheduled for October 16. PI remained below the key $0.10 level amid broader weakness across the...