Publication

This paper examines Japan's trade policy and identifies two distinct orientations. The first is a strategic reaction, characterized by the author as "fragmented realism" because Japan has not formulated the reaction under the cohesive grand design with concerted efforts by government agencies. The other is benign cooperation, which the author calls "naïve liberalism" because Japan has failed to develop regional institutions and utilize specific norms as linchpins to maintain influence in East Asia.