This event, held in partnership with Chatham House, brings a panel of experts to Japan House London to discuss how Japan can make a difference amid the contest for influence in the Global South.

The United States’ unilateral turn and its withdrawal from global institutions has upended decades of its global leadership. In its absence, a range of actors have been eager to fill this void, with the Global South emerging as a critical arena in the competition for global power – one that will help determine the shape of the future international order.

China is keen to expand its influence in the Global South as deteriorating Sino-US relations and a slowing domestic economy have pushed Beijing to look outward for new sources of growth. Since launching the Belt and Road Initiative, China has committed substantial diplomatic and financial resources to cultivating its relationships across the Global South, and its trade and investment flows to those countries continue to grow. India is also seeking to present itself as a leader of the Global South but is struggling to fulfill its ambitions.

In the face of these changes, concerns have grown among US allies – including Japan, the UK and others – about China’s growing influence among developing nations. But how have countries in the Global South responded to China’s growing interests? And how successful have other powers, including Japan and the UK, been in their own engagement with these countries? Our panel explores the shifting power dynamics in the Global South as strategic competition intensifies.

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About the speakers

Yamada Yōji

Born in Shiga Prefecture in 1980, Yamada Yōji studied ceramics at the Shigaraki Ceramic Research Institute. Inspired by historic British slipware, he moved to the UK in 2007 and trained in soda glazing under Lisa Hammond MBE at Maze Hill Pottery. After returning to Japan, he worked at Furutani Seitō before establishing his own practice in Shigaraki. His work explores functional ceramic forms and the traces (patterns) left by unforced, improvised hand movements, drawing on the inherent qualities of materials. He is engaged in the production of slipware-inspired ceramics using familiar raw materials and local kilns.