CWP alum Ayumi Teraoka on U.S.-China Nexus Podcast

Ties between Tokyo and Beijing quickly turned tense following a statement by Takaichi about Japan’s strategic thinking vis-à-vis a potential crisis in the Taiwan Strait. Ayumi Teraoka walks us through how the current diplomatic spat arose, provides historical context, and explains how China factors into Japan’s broader foreign policy.

Eleanor M. Albert: Our guest today is Ayumi Teraoka, an assistant professor of politics at Brandeis University. She studies alliance politics and security issues in the Indo-Pacific. Her forthcoming book examines the history of U.S. alliance management in Asia from the 1960s to the present, illuminating the conditions under which the United States successfully negotiated geopolitically contested issues with allies, including air defense integration and the defense of Taiwan, in the face of China's opposition. Ayumi, it's great to have you back on the show. It's a real treat.

January 14, 2026 - China in Japan’s Foreign Policy - U.S.-China Nexus Podcast

Ayumi Teraoka is Assistant Professor of Politics at Brandeis University. She studies alliance politics and security issues in the Indo-Pacific. Her forthcoming book examines the history of U.S. alliance management in Asia from the 1960s to the present, illuminating the conditions under which the United States successfully negotiated geopolitically contested issues with allies, including air defense integration and the defense of Taiwan, in the face of China's opposition. Her research has been supported by the Smith Richardson Foundation, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, and the America in the World Consortium, among others. Before joining Brandeis, she held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Texas at Austin (2022-2023) and Columbia University (2023-2025), where she taught Japanese Foreign Policy for Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). She also previously held research positions at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C. She holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in Security Studies from Princeton University, an M.A. in Asian Studies from Georgetown University, and a B.A. in Law from Keio University.

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