ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is to introduce the main extant international relations (IR) theories that have been utilized and developed to analyze and explain patterns of Japan’s international behaviour by looking at Japan’s changing international and domestic environments and to outline the multiple IR approaches used in the case of Japan. Alongside traditional Western-oriented or Eurocentric IR theory, the objective of this chapter is to clearly explicate and navigate through these debates to arrive at a clear set of frameworks for better analyzing the evolving trends in Japan’s international trajectory.
