Combating Disinformation

Disinformation and other forms of “information operations” have become tools of choice for authoritarian regimes seeking to coerce and influence adversaries in the gray zone below the threshold of military conflict. As Japan’s National Security Strategy notes, “Grey zone situations over territories, cross-border cyberattacks on critical civilian infrastructures, and information warfare through the spread of disinformation, are constantly taking place, thereby further blurring the boundary between contingency and peacetime.” This report explores the disinformation threat environment in the Indo-Pacific region, with a particular focus on China and, to a lesser extent, Russia. It examines tools and methods for combating disinformation and seeks to chart an agenda for deeper collaboration between the United States and Japan in addressing this growing challenge. This report incorporates the results of a closed-door conference held at CSIS in February 2024 which featured experts on this subject from the United States and Japan.

Christopher B. Johnstone, senior adviser and Japan Chair, also sat down with Hideaki Ishii, director of the Public Diplomacy Strategy Division in Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss how the United States and Japan can cooperate to address this critical challenge.  

This report and the closed-door conference that informed it were made possible by support from the government of Japan.