Japan’s World Power Assessment, Outlook and Vision Nissan Institute/Routledge Japanese Studies Series

Since the end of the 1960s, Japan?s power in the world has largely been linked to its economic successes, while it has pursued a decidedly pacifist post-war foreign policy. Recently, however, there has been talk of Constitutional reform, especially since the new security legislation of 2016. Coupled with the conservative tilt of the two Houses, there is evidence to suggest that Japan?s approach to exercising its power could be changing.

Japan?s World Power therefore seeks to examine the nature of Japan?s power today, showing how the country?s influence on the global stage appears to be shifting from economic and financial, to more political and military. Featuring a team of Japanese international relations experts, each chapter analyses the different facets of Japanese power, evaluating both its current status and the challenges which lie ahead. Ultimately, however, this book demonstrates that despite recent developments and changes, the way in which Japan exercises its power remains decidedly different from other major powers as it continues to be guided by its pacifist identity.

Providing a multi-faceted assessment of Japan?s power, as well as its weaknesses, this book will be useful to students and scholars of Japanese Politics, Asian Foreign Policy and Asian Politics in general.

Introduction: powerful or powerless? The puzzle of Japanese powerGuibourg Delamotte PART I Japan’s power strategy on the international scene 1. The power of Japan and its 'Grand Strategy', KaneharaNobukatsu 2.Contemporary Japan’s power within international financial organisations, YagoKazuhiko 3. Exercising power within an international organisation: Japan’s diplomacy toward the United Nations reform in the 1990s and 2000s, Akiyama Nobumasa PART II The challenges Japan faces4. 'Proactive contribution to peace' in context: the long path to normalisation, Kitaoka Shin.ichi 5. The U.S.–Japan Alliance: enhancer or brake on Japan’s power?", Kamiya Matake 6. Japan’s economic strength and weaknesses, Tadokoro Masayuki PART III Internal politics as a source of weakness7. How History impacts Japan’s image and interests, and what to do about it, Yamamoto Yoshinobu 8. From weak prime minister to proactive prime minister: domestic political conditions and their transformations, Nonaka Naoto 9. Politics should end at the water’s edge: for a national security policy beyond party lines, Nagashima Akihisa, MP and Sasaki Kenji

Guibourg Delamotte is Associate Professor of Political Science at the French Institute of Oriental Studies (INALCO), France.