Japanese Foreign Policy at the Crossroads: Challenges and Options for the Twenty-First Century - Hardcover

Yutaka Kawashima

9780815748700: Japanese Foreign Policy at the Crossroads: Challenges and Options for the Twenty-First Century

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0815748701 ISBN 13: 9780815748700

Publisher: Brookings Institution,U.S., 2003

The post–World War II paradigm that ensured security and prosperity for the Japanese people has lost much of its effectiveness. The current generation has become increasingly resentful of the prolonged economic stagnation and feels a sense of drift and uncertainty about the future of Japan's foreign policy.

In Japanese Foreign Policy at the Crossroads, Yutaka Kawashima clarifies some of the defining parameters of Japan's past foreign policy and examines the challenges it currently faces, including the quagmire on the Korean Peninsula, the future of the U.S.-Japan alliance, the management of Japan-China relations, and Japan's relation with Southeast Asia.

Kawashima —who, as vice minister of foreign affairs, was Japan's highest-ranking foreign service official —cautions Japan against attempts to ensure its own security and well-being outside of an international framework. He believes it is crucial that Japan work with as many like-minded countries as possible to construct a regional and international order based on shared interests and shared values. In an era of globalization, he cautions, such efforts will be crucial to maintaining global world order and ensuring civilized interaction among all states.

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Review:

"Kawashima's book on Japanese foreign policy offers a comprehensive survey of the island state's relations with other countries and explores salient paradigms that governed its postwar diplomacy." --Susanne Klien, Halle-Wittenberg University, H-Net Reviews in the Humanities & Social Sciences, 4/1/2006 "A first-rate examination of the foreign policy challenges facing Japan. Yutaka Kawashima clarifies the defining parameters of Japan's past foreign policy and shares his vision for a new and proactive approach to international affairs." --Michael H. Armacost, Shorenstein Distinguished Fellow, Institute for International Studies, Stanford University "A polished, thoughtful book on the policy changes Japan should make to confront the post-Cold War world and the new configuration of forces in East Asia...The wisdom with which Kawashima analyzes past decisions lends credibility to his future policy recommendations: a more proactive Japanese foreign policy more in line with the standard policies of other major powers." -- Foreign Affairs, 5/1/2004 "This book merits careful reading by anyone interested in the rationales and emphases dominant in Japan's postwar foreign policy, and in how those positions will or will not be adapted to the world of international terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and a 'rising China.'" --Davis B. Bobrow, University of Pittsburg, Pacific Affairs: Volume 77, No. 4, 12/15/2004 "His life-long experiences in foreign affairs have made him uniquely qualified to talk about Japan's foreign policy." --Manwoo Lee, Millersville University, Asian Affairs, an American Review, 4/15/2005 "I have not seen a more succinct articulate presentation of the logic of Japanese foreign policy. One of Japan's leading diplomats, Kawashima draws on his service in most of the key regions of the world and personal involvement in the most crucial foreign policy issues of recent decades. Fresh, candid, thoughtful." --Ezra F. Vogel, Henry Ford II Research Professor, Harvard University "Rarely does a Japanese diplomat of such stature and experience write in English about his country's foreign policy in a comprehensive manner. By doing just that, Mr. Yutaka Kawashima provides an illuminating glimpse into the strategic thinking that probably prevails today in Japan's Foreign Ministry. Especially useful is his analysis of Japan's challenges and options regarding the United States and East Asia." --Mike Mochizuki, Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies, George Washington University

Synopsis:

The future of foreign policy in Japan is highly uncertain. The post-World War II paradigm that ensured security and prosperity for the Japanese people has lost much of its effectiveness. The current generation is frustrated by the lack of diplomatic transparency and resentful of prolonged economic stagnation. To make matters worse, a series of scandals has damaged the legitimacy and credibility of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In this book, Yutaka Kawashima - who, as vice minister of foreign affairs, was Japan's highest-ranking foreign service official - examines this uncertainty and explores the key decision-making processes that have led Japan to this point. Kawashima cautions Japan against attempts to ensure its own security and well-being outside of an international framework. He urges Japanese leaders to work with as many countries as possible to construct and maintain a regional and international order based on shared interests as well as shared values among states. In an era of globalization, he cautions, such efforts will be crucial to maintaining world order and ensuring civilized interaction among all states.

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