Japan’s Foreign Policy Making

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiv

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2. Structures and Actors in Foreign Policy Making in Japan

   • Karol Zakowski, Beata Bochorodycz, Marcin Socha

   Pages 1-11

3. Central Government Reforms and Foreign Policy Making in Japan

   • Karol Zakowski, Beata Bochorodycz, Marcin Socha

   Pages 13-31

4. War on Terrorism Under the Koizumi Cabinet

   • Karol Zakowski, Beata Bochorodycz, Marcin Socha

   Pages 33-53

5. History Problems Under the Koizumi Administration

   • Karol Zakowski, Beata Bochorodycz, Marcin Socha

   Pages 55-75

6. Prime Minister Koizumi’s Policy Towards North Korea

   • Karol Zakowski, Beata Bochorodycz, Marcin Socha

   Pages 77-96

7. Rapprochement with China Under the Abe and Fukuda Cabinets

   • Karol Zakowski, Beata Bochorodycz, Marcin Socha

   Pages 97-115

8. New Pillar of Japan’s Foreign Policy: Arc of Freedom and Prosperity and Values-Oriented Diplomacy

   • Karol Zakowski, Beata Bochorodycz, Marcin Socha

   Pages 117-136

9. The Issue of Futenma Under the Koizumi and Hatoyama Cabinets

   • Karol Zakowski, Beata Bochorodycz, Marcin Socha

   Pages 137-155

10. Hatoyama Administration’s East Asian Community Initiative

    • Karol Zakowski, Beata Bochorodycz, Marcin Socha

    Pages 157-179

11. Climate Change Negotiations Under the DPJ Government

    • Karol Zakowski, Beata Bochorodycz, Marcin Socha

    Pages 181-202

12. Abe Cabinet and the TPP Negotiations on “Trade Sensitivities”

    • Karol Zakowski, Beata Bochorodycz, Marcin Socha

    Pages 203-231

13. Summary and Conclusions

    • Karol Zakowski, Beata Bochorodycz, Marcin Socha

    Pages 233-242

This book evaluates the impact of the 2001 central government reforms on effective foreign policy making in Japan. It puts a special focus on the evolution of the domestic institutional factors and decision-making processes behind Japan’s foreign policy, while also analyzing the development of Japan’s external relations with various other countries, such as the US, China and North Korea. Adhering to the neoclassical realist approach, the authors show that, thanks to a more independent Kantei-based form of diplomacy, Japan’s prime ministers were able to strategically respond to international developments, and to pursue their own diplomatic endeavors more boldly. At the same time, they demonstrate that the effectiveness of this proactive posture was still heavily dependent on the decision-makers’ ability to form cohesive coalitions and select suitable institutional tools, which enabled them to influence domestic and international affairs. 

• Foreign policy of Japan
• Decision-making process
• Political leadership
• Central government reforms in Japan
• Institutional change
• Neoclassical realism
• Japan–China relations
• Japan–US relations
• Liberal Democratic Party of Japan
• Japan's international relations

• Faculty of International and Political Studies, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland

  Karol Zakowski, Marcin Socha

• Chair of Oriental Studies, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland

  Beata Bochorodycz

Karol Zakowski, PhD (2010) and habilitation (2016) in political science, is an Associate Professor of International Relations at the Department of Asian Studies, Faculty of International and Political Studies, University of Lodz. He was a visiting scholar at the Kwansei Gakuin University (2008-2009), Keio University (2012-2013, Japan Foundation Japanese Studies Fellowship), and National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo (2016). His research focuses on the evolution of the Japanese political scene and Sino-Japanese relations. He is author of Decision-Making Reform in Japan: The DPJ’s Failed Attempt at a Politician-Led Government (London and New York: Routledge, 2015), as well as other books, journal articles, and book chapters.

Beata Bochorodycz is an Associate Professor at the Chair of Oriental Studies, Adam Mickiewicz University (AMU) in Poznan. MA in Japanese studies at AMU (1993); MA in law at the Law Department of Kyushu University, specializing in Japanese politics (2001); PhD at the Institute of Political Studies, Polish Academy of Science (PAN) in Warsaw (2006). Additionally, she was a fellow of the International Rotary Club (1993-1995), the Japanese Ministry of Education (1997-2001), and Japan Foundation (2013-2014). Visiting Professor at Yokohama National University (2008-2009), and visiting scholar at GRIPS in Tokyo (Sep.-Oct. 2016). Research focus: modern political and social history of Japan, policy process in public administration, foreign policy, the Okinawa problem in Japan–US relations. An author of several articles and books, including The Changing Patterns of Policy Making in Japan (Poznan: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2010).

Marcin Socha, PhD (2015) in international relations, is an Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Department of Asian Studies, Faculty of International and Political Studies, University of Lodz. His research focuses on changes in Japanese energy and climate policy. He is a research associate in the Center for Asian Affairs in Lodz, Poland, with a focus on Japan's paradiplomacy and policy towards Central and Eastern Europe. 

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