ABSTRACT

Japan's Foreign Relations in Asia has been specifically designed to introduce students to Japan’s foreign relations in Asia since 1990, a period in which there have been dramatic developments in Japan, including the reinterpretation of the Constitution and expanded US–Japan defence cooperation. The geopolitical dynamics and implications of these new developments are profound and underscore the need for a new textbook on this subject.

Covering not only the key regional players of China and the Koreas, this textbook also encompasses chapters on Japan’s relations with India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand, along with its multilateral engagement and initiatives. Combined with transnational chapters on critical issues, key themes covered by this book include:

  • An historical overview of key post-war developments.
  • Japan’s evolving security policy.
  • Analysis of the region’s escalating maritime disputes.
  • An evaluation of Japanese soft power in Asia.

Written by leading experts in accessible, jargon-free style, this new textbook will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students of Japanese politics, international relations and foreign policy and Asian affairs in general.

part II|140 pages

Regional themes

chapter 3|14 pages

Evolution or new doctrine?

Japanese security policy in the era of collective self-defense

chapter 4|12 pages

Japan’s security policy in the context of the US–Japan alliance

The emergence of an “Abe Doctrine”

chapter 8|14 pages

“Commitment by presence”

Naval diplomacy and Japanese defense engagement in Southeast Asia

chapter 9|17 pages

The triumph of hope over experience

The false promise of Japanese soft power in East Asia 1

chapter 10|13 pages

Japan’s multilateralism in Asia

chapter 12|15 pages

Japan’s rivalry with China in Southeast Asia

ODA, the AIIB, infrastructural projects, the Mekong Basin and the disputed South China Sea

part III|184 pages

Bilateral relations

chapter 14|13 pages

Post-Cold War Sino-Japanese relations and Japan’s China policy

The rise of strategic realism

chapter 15|17 pages

Shadow boxing

Japan’s para-diplomacy with Taiwan

chapter 16|15 pages

Sour partners

Japan and South Korea’s uncomfortable compromise for cooperation

chapter 18|14 pages

Japan’s foreign relations with Russia

Unfulfilled potential

chapter 20|15 pages

Japanese–Thai relations

On a chessboard of domestic and regional politics

chapter 22|17 pages

Japan’s foreign relations with the Philippines

A case of evolving Japan in Asia

chapter 23|13 pages

Japan–Vietnam relations

Implementation of the “strategic partnership”