Why are Japan and China now locked in an intractable conflict regarding the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands?  Professor Mike Mochizuki will examine the historical, economic, military, territorial and international legal dimensions of this dispute.  After considering power transition and nationalism as possible explanations, he will explain the recent deterioration of Japan-China relations by analysing the interactive dynamics between the two countries and the role of domestic politics.  Finally, he will consider possible ways to mitigate the conflict. 

Professor Mochizuki holds the Japan-U.S. Relations Chair in Memory of Gaston Sigur at the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University. Dr. Mochizuki was director of the Sigur Center for Asian Studies from 2001 to 2005. He co-directs the "Memory and Reconciliation in the Asia-Pacific" research and policy project of the Sigur Center. Previously, he was a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He was also Co-Director of the Center for Asia-Pacific Policy at RAND and has taught at the University of Southern California and Yale University.