“Japan’s digital policy is consensus-driven, differing from both Western and Chinese approaches”, says DIJ researcher Harald Kümmerle in a recent interview with Nikkei X-Tech, an online news portal of Japanese newspaper Nikkei Shinbun. Building on a widely recognised classification of global digital governance into three ideal types – market-driven (US), state-driven (China), and rights-driven (EU) – Kümmerle proposes Japan’s consensus-driven model as a distinct fourth type. This model, he argues, is characterized by soft regulation and administrative guidance rather than formal rule-making. This provides both opportunities and challenges. As Harald notes in the interview, “If Japan can expand its circle of partners among Indo-Pacific nations in the field of economic security, it may be able to mediate between the EU and the US.” The article (in Japanese) is available here.