ABSTRACT
The problems of increased militarization and territorial disputes, which stand in the way of regional integration in East Asia, cannot be resolved by bilateral negotiations between, for example, Japan and South Korea or Japan and China. The more these problems are discussed bilaterally, the greater is the risk that the emotions of citizens in each country will be stirred up and that nationalism will be intensified. Therefore, somewhat paradoxically, I would suggest that the issues which stand in the way of regional integration can only really be resolved through the very process of moving towards greater regional integration. As a case in point, the experience of the European Union (EU) shows us how regional integration can defuse territorial disputes. 1
