The last five years have seen tremendous changes taking place in international relations, and Japan has not been exempt. With the growing influence of the Quad, the recent formation of the IPEF, and Japan's own pursuit of a free and open Indo-Pacific, Japan is, in the words of this interviewee, "starting to act like the third largest economy." Tosh Minohara, professor of US-Japan relations at the Kobe University Graduate School of Law and founder of the Research Institute of Indo-Pacific Affairs, speaks with Japan Up Close about the complexities and opportunities that lay ahead for both Japan and the United States.