On April 1, 2024, Professor Maiko Ichihara of the Graduate School of Law published an article from Foresight titled “China’s Attempt to Drive a Wedge in Japan-South Korea and Japan-Taiwan Relations: Influence Operations Targeting Societies of Third Countries.” In this article, Professor Ichihara discusses influence operations targeting third-country societies to disrupt cooperation between the target country and third nations. She explains that the primary goal of such influence operations is to polarize and destabilize the target country. These efforts are no longer limited to bilateral attempts aimed solely at individual countries but are increasingly intended to drive wedges into international alliances. As a prominent example, Professor Ichihara highlights the narratives surrounding the release of treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. She notes that the Chinese Communist Party has been spreading disinformation about the treated water, especially in South Korea and Taiwan, in an attempt to amplify anti-Japanese sentiment within these societies and to create friction in Japan-South Korea and Japan-Taiwan relations. She also points out similar influence operations targeting Japanese society, citing as a typical example the spread of narratives designed to foster anti-Korean sentiment to cause division between Japan and South Korea. In conclusion, Professor Ichihara emphasizes the necessity of establishing cross-border information-sharing networks and strengthening collaboration in research and investigation to mitigate the harmful effects of disinformation and distorted information.