Kuniko Ashizawa, Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Oxford Brookes University and Visiting Fellow at the Reischauer Center, SAIS, explains that “Compared with other major donors, like the United States and United Kingdom, Japan is viewed by many Afghans as a neutral actor, both strategically and politically. This is due, in part, to the fact that Japan does not have a military presence in Afghanistan.”

The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of the East-West Center or any organization with which the author is affiliated.

Additional titles in the Asia Pacific Bulletin series