ABSTRACT
Japanese foreign policy has entered a transitional era, between the successful attainment of the national goals that led the nation to economic prosperity and international recognition and the painful search for new national goals that will lead the nation into the next century. Most observers find it easier to identify the road Japan has traveled in the post-World War II period to its current status as an economic and financial great power. Retroactively called the "Yoshida Doctrine," this policy emphasized economic reconstruction and growth, minimal defense efforts, and a reliance on the United States. This external policy was characterized by passivity and reactiveness regionally and globally, a near-obsession with economic and resource diplomacy, the avoidance of involvement in political and strategic issues, and strong dependence on a pax Americana international system. It was a neo-mercantilist, neo-isolationist, low-profile, low risk strategy—and one that basically worked, thus making it difficult for many Japanese to think about fixing what seemingly "ain't broke."
