Japan’s ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’ and Russian and Chinese Information Influence
Japan’s ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’ and Russian and Chinese Information Influence

Summary/Abstract: This paper explores how Russia and China use disinforming, distorting, and deceptive information manipulation to target a ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’ (FOIP), a pillar of Japan’s foreign and defence policies. Drawing on empirical data collected around four events in 2023, it is one of the first open-source intelligence (OSINT) analyses of the Japanese information space and the ways it is targeted via foreign state-backed information threats to be published in an academic journal. It analyses the organisation and conduct of Russian and Chinese information manipulation and interference, highlighting how they use distinct but uncoordinated approaches to generate mutually reinforcing effects in an attempt to undermine Japan’s vision of FOIP and its values-driven strategic communications.

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