This book explores the essential nature of regionalism by conducting a comprehensive analysis of more than 30 regionalist proposals made by Japan and other Asian countries throughout the post-war period. Shintaro Hamanaka examines the whole post war period and covers all regionalist proposals since then, while most existing studies cover only the development of Asian regionalism in the recent decade. A significant number of cases in the proposed book enable the readers to go beyond an understanding of each regionalist project, to a deeper understanding of theoretically generalizeable behavior pattern of Japan and other countries. The book also comparatively analyzes political, financial and trade regionalisms. The central aim of the book is to reveal the fact that policies with regard to regionalism have a pattern, in this case with a principal, though not an exclusive focus, on Japan. The author demonstrates that the behavior pattern of external policy is extremely consistent in terms of the membership of regionalist organizations and discusses whether this new approach to regionalism holds explanatory power vis-à-vis regionalism outside Asia. This book will be of interest to scholars, postgraduate students and policy makers in the fields of international relations, Asian studies, international trade and regionalism.

Have Japan's relative economic decline and China's rapid ascent altered the dynamics of Asian regionalism? Peter Katzenstein and Takashi Shiraishi, the editors of Network Power, one of the most comprehensive volumes on East Asian regionalism in the 1990s, present here an impressive new collection that brings the reader up to date. This book argues that East Asia's regional dynamics are no longer the result of a simple extension of any one national model. While Japanese institutional structures and political practices remain critically important, the new East Asia now under construction is more than, and different from, the sum of its various national parts. At the outset of a new century, the interplay of Japanese factors with Chinese, American, and other national influences is producing a distinctively new East Asian region.

Viewing the rise of China from Japan's perspective, the author elucidates Japanese policy responses and their implications for regional institution building. It fills a gap in knowledge about the development of East Asian regional institutions and Sino-Japanese relationships.

As Japan's newfound economic power leads to increased political power, there is concern that Japan may be turning East Asia into a regional economic bloc to rival the U.S. and Europe. In Regionalism and Rivalry, leading economists and political scientists address this concern by looking at three central questions: Is Japan forming a trading bloc in Pacific Asia? Does Japan use foreign direct investment in Southeast Asia to achieve national goals? Does Japan possess the leadership qualities necessary for a nation assuming greater political responsibility in international affairs? The authors contend that although intraregional trade in East Asia is growing rapidly, a trade bloc is not necessarily forming. They show that the trade increase can be explained entirely by factors independent of discriminatory trading arrangements, such as the rapid growth of East Asian economies. Other chapters look in detail at cases of Japanese direct investment in Southeast Asia and find little evidence of attempts by Japan to use the power of its multinational corporations for political purposes. A third group of papers attempt to gauge Japan's leadership characteristics. They focus on Japan's "technology ideology," its contributions to international public goods, international monetary cooperation, and economic liberalization in East Asia.

This collection of scholarly papers examines the influence of Japanese dominance on the politics, economies, and cultures of Southeast Asia. A major question probed is whether Japan has now attained, through economic power, the predominance it once sought through military means. Japan's hegemonic system is not the first to work over the area--before it were those from China, from Britain, from the United States. This collection's comparative perspective acknowledges the distinctiveness of Asian regionalism and Japan's changing role with it. As the subtitle of this book indicates, it is concerned with Japan and Asia and not with Japan in Asia, thus suggesting a complex and at the same time problematical regional identity for Japan.

This book studies specific regional issues and problems, exploring recent related political developments in Japan, and how these might impact on future foreign policy priorities and objectives. The expert body of contributors consider issues such as: the nexus between domestic politics and foreign policy; environmental aid and management; human rights and democracy and conflict management.-- Provided by publisher.

China, Japan and Regional Leadership in East Asia is a compilation which provides a necessary and welcome update to the Asian regionalism debates of the last decade, bringing together notable experts in Asian area studies and comparative foreign policy to provide many new insights. . . essential reading both for practitioners of Asian studies and those concerned with the role of comparative regionalism in modern international relations. Marc Lanteigne, East Asia An International Quarterly . . . this book is strongly recommended reading for everyone interested in Japan China relations, leadership, and East Asia. It proves that looking at complex issues from a variety of angles does bring a much deeper understanding. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Marie Söderberg, Journal of Japanese Studies This book addresses one of the most intriguing but also under-researched issues of the future of the Asian strategic landscape: who will lead the region and replace US leadership, Japan and China, and what kind of leadership do we have to expect? The authors come to the conclusion that it is a matrix or combination of leadership options rather than a single leadership type, depending on issue domains, governance structure and geospatial scales. . . The conclusions by Christopher Dent admirably draw the theoretical and empirical issues together. Reinhard Drifte, Pacific Affairs This book considers themes, evidence and ideas relating to the prospects for regional leadership in East Asia, with particular reference to China and Japan assuming regional leader actor roles. Key issues discussed by the list of distinguished contributors include: the extent to which there is an East Asian region to lead China Japan relations different aspects of Japan and China s positions in the East Asia region how the seemingly inexorable rise of China is being addressed within the region how China and Japan have explored paths of regional leadership through certain regional and multilateral organisations and frameworks the position of certain intermediary powers (i.e. the United States and Korea) with regards to regional leadership diplomacy in East Asia. Invaluably, the concluding chapter brings together the main findings of the book and presents new analytical approaches for studying the nature of, and prospects for leadership in East Asia. China, Japan and Regional Leadership in East Asia will be essential reading for upper level undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers of international relations, regional studies, international political economy and economics as well as Asian and development studies.

The Nixon or Guam Doctrine of 1969 stressed the importance of progress towards regional cooperation and Asian collective security, indicating that Asian countries themselves should take the initiative in creating programs in which the United States could participate. This book analyses the development of United States regional cooperation policy on Southeast Asia and its importance to long-term planning for the region that had been the general aim of successive American post-war administrations. The author demonstrates the link between economic regional cooperation and collective security in Southeast Asia, placing regionalism in an international context by examining the influence United States policy and various important events had on the development of Southeast Asian regionalism. Through the analysis of primary material, including previously classified material, in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and engagement with historiography of war and peace in Southeast Asia, the book puts forward the argument that Southeast Asian regional cooperation was influenced by both American and Asian policy and its development reflected the economic and political transformation of the post-war Southeast Asian landscape. It also examines the developments in British and Australian policy and how developments in Southeast Asia influenced and, in turn, were affected by the policies of the Western powers. Adding to the current discourse concerning the origins of Southeast Asian regionalism, this book will be of interest to academics in the field of Southeast Asian studies, United States political history, international relations and regionalism.

The International Relations of Japan and South East Asia asks three main questions: how and when has a new South East Asian regionalism been set in motion? what is the nature of Japanese leadership and networking in maintaining and promoting that new regionalism?; and, given the current economic and political crisis, what will happen to regionalism in the future? This work is an invaluable resource for students and scholars as it gives a complete overview of Japanese foreign policy and Japan-South East Asian relations.

"Book Abstract and Keywords: The study of Japanese politics has flourished over the past several decades. This Handbook provides a state-of-the-field overview for students and researchers of Japanese. The volume also serves to introduce Japanese politics to readers less familiar with Japan. In addition, the volume has a theme of "evaluating Japan's democracy." Taken as a whole, the volume provides a positive evaluation of the state of Japan's democracy. The volume is divided into two parts, roughly corresponding to domestic Japanese politics and Japan's international politics. Within the domestic politics part, there are four distinct sections: "Domestic Political Actors and Institutions," covering the Japanese Constitution, electoral systems, prime minister, Diet, bureaucracy, judiciary, and local government; "Political Parties and Coalitions," covering the Liberal Democratic Party, coalition government, Kōmeitō, and the political opposition; "Policymaking and the Public," covering the policymaking process, public opinion, civil society, and populism; and, "Political Economy and Social Policy," covering industrial, energy, social welfare, agricultural, monetary, and immigration policies, as well as social inequality. In the international relations part, there are four sections: "International Relations Frameworks," covering grand strategy, international organizations, and international status; "International Political Economy," covering trade, finance, foreign direct investment, the environment, economic regionalism, and the linkage between security and economics; "International Security," covering remilitarization, global and regional security multilateralism, nuclear nonproliferation, naval power, space security, and cybersecurity; and, "Foreign Relations" covering Japan's relations with the United States, China, South Korea, ASEAN, India, the European Union, and Russia. Keywords: international relations, comparative politics, democracy, international order, alliances, space security, elections, Liberal Democratic Party, multilateralism, remilitarization, international organizations, populism, civil society, coalitions, political parties, trade, finance monetary policy, foreign direct investment, cybersecurity"--