ABSTRACT
In the modern era, Japan has been a country in search of a vision of itself and its role in global affairs. This chapter looks at the post-World War II setting of Japanese foreign policy, which is dominated by the Cold War and the American-led liberal international order. The chapter analyzes Japan's postwar choices within this order, focuses on the logic and character of stakeholder grand strategy. It examines Japan's postwar ascendancy, the debates and choices that shaped Japan's evolving regional and global orientation, and the successes and limitations of this orientation. The chapter also looks at Japan's struggles after the end of the Cold War to update and move beyond its stakeholder grand strategy. Japanese political leaders and strategic thinkers have debated both of these alternative grand strategic postures in the postwar decades. Japan has tended to retreat back to its longer-term postwar strategy as an alliance partner and stakeholder state.
