Ben Ascione is an Assistant Professor at Waseda University, specialising in International Relations, Security Studies, and Japanese foreign and security policy. He holds a PhD from the Australian National University and an MA from Waseda. His research focuses on the Asia-Pacific, including the domestic politics-foreign policy nexus and US-Japan relations, particularly host nation support. He also serves as the Japan and Korea Editor for East Asia Forum and is a Research Associate at the Japan Center for International Exchange.