Japan as a Maritime Nation

John F. Bradford is the executive director and founding president of the Yokosuka Council on Asia- Pacific Studies (YCAPS). He is concurrently a senior fellow in the maritime security programme, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He previously served as a Navy officer for twenty-three years. His at-sea assignments included deputy director, Maritime Headquarters, U.S. 7th Fleet; regional cooperation coordinator, U.S. 7th Fleet; and commanding officer, USS Stethem (DDG-63). In the Pentagon, he served as country director for Japan in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Policy) and Asia- Pacific Politico-Military Branch Chief on the Navy staff. As an Olmsted scholar, he studied in the department of political science at Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia and completed an MSc in Strategic Studies from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. He is also a graduate of Japan’s National Institute of Defense Studies, U.S. National Defense University, U.S. Naval War College and Cornell University.