ABSTRACT
In recent years, the most striking shift in Japanese foreign policy has been the growing emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region. In December 1992, an advisory council appointed by then Prime Minister Miyazawa Kiichi outlined a framework for Japan's regional policy regarding security dialogues, economic cooperation, and the promotion of mutual understanding. l A month later, Miyazawa toured Southeast Asia to strengthen relations with the states in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). He called for a long-term vision for peace and security in the region and proposed a "Forum for the Comprehensive Development of Indochina."2 On another front, Ozawa Ichiro, who played a critical role in provoking Miyazawa's fall from power in summer 1993 by leading a faction out of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has argued that "Japan must clarify its diplomatic stance of emphasizing the Asia-Pacific region." In his best-selling book, Nihon Kaizo Keikaku, he called for a special policy coordination relationship with countries in the Asia-Pacific region by establishing a permanent "Asia-Pacific Cabinet-Level Council."3 Soon after becoming prime minister, Hosokawa Morihiro explicitly engaged the issue of Japan's responsibility for the Pacific war and apologized for his country's malicious behavior during thirty-five years of colonial rule over Korea. Prime Minister Murayama Tomiichi, the first Social Democratic prime minister since 1947, followed up on this theme during his state visits to South Korea and Southeast Asia in the summer of 1994 by expressing remorse about Japan's imperialist past as well as bearing economic benefits. Both diplomatic initiatives represent an effort to liberate Japanese policy towards East Asia from the shackles of its historic past and establish the political foundations for a more prominent regional role.
