foreign policy

Japan

nationality

Japanese

is, for Japanese, neither active nor reactive but rather represents a quiet, low-profile, gradual style that allows Japanese to effectively pursue its policy agendas.

One reason for the negative concept of Japanese foreign policy is that most existing literature on this topic has neglected or underestimated an important characteristic of Japanese foreign policy, namely Japan's quiet and gradual style of pursuing its policy agendas. This book argues that Japan has carried out its policies in a different style from what the dominant international relations literature usually expects: Japan has preferred to keep a low profile while quietly and incrementally carrying out its policies. Indeed, this style of Japanese foreign policy has been quite effective in realising policy goals, given the domestic, regional and international constraints. However, only a small number of studies have noted this important characteristic of Japanese foreign policy.2 The book considers that neglecting, or underestimating, this has greatly contributed to misunderstandings over Japanese foreign policy.

Shigeko HayashiThinkers

Shigeko Hayashi