Japan’s update of its Free and Open Indo-Pacific framework

(Takahiro Kamisuna, Jumpei Ishimaru – IISS) In a speech made on 2 May 2026 during a visit to Hanoi in Vietnam, Japan’s Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae announced an ‘update’ to Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) framework for its policy towards the region. This update also marked ten years since the launch of FOIP by Japan’s then-prime minister Abe Shinzo. Takaichi’s FOIP refresh was notable in its strong emphasis on practical outcomes for Southeast Asia and the broader Indo-Pacific region in three key areas – building ‘economic infrastructure’, boosting economic growth and enhancing security – against a background of what she termed the ‘structural change in the international order’. – Japan’s update of its Free and Open Indo-Pacific framework