ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on how analysts of Japan frame its relations with the United States (US), China, North and South Korea, Russia, and Southeast Asia, seeking the impact of theoretical conceptions. It offers how theory influenced foreign policy in the catch-up period of the 1950s to 1970s, the confident "bubble" era of the 1980s, the post-Cold War decade of regional aspirations in the 1990s, and the uncertainty in the 2010s. The foremost geo-cultural challenge for Japan during the Cold War era and into the 1990s was the threat of Western civilization overwhelming Japan's sense of identity. Japan's geopolitical challenges shifted from the Soviet Union to China and North Korea, in each case leading it to depend on its alliance with the US. Japanese used to frame foreign policy challenges with neighboring states primarily as geo-economic challenges. Association of Southeast Asian Nations is the principal example of liberal and realist thinking by Japan that is not marred by national identity obsessions.
