Japan's New Regional Reality

This book provides a much-needed analysis of changes in Japan’s regional economic strategy. In giving agency to the Japanese state, Katada makes a major contribution to our understanding not just of contemporary Japan, but of the region as a whole and the potential shape of the world order to come. -- Saadia Pekkanen, editor of Asian Designs: Governance in the Contemporary World Order
At a time when the future of Asia is narrowly seen through the prism of U.S.-China great power competition, Katada persuasively demonstrates that Japan’s quiet transformation—less mercantilist, more champion of liberalism—will shape the regional order. Her command of the nuanced evolution of Japan’s foreign economic policy across diverse tracks—trade and investment, finance, and development aid—is unparalleled. Essential reading for anyone interested in Asian geoeconomics. -- Mireya Solís, author of Dilemmas of a Trading Nation: Japan and the United States in the Evolving Asia-Pacific Order
This important book provides a convincing account of the remarkable shift by Japan to lead regional initiatives for liberal economic policy. Katada melds theory and empirical tests to explain how state-led liberalism arose to replace mercantilist industrial policies with a new era of Japanese foreign economic policy. Looking inside domestic decision-making processes and reflecting on the challenge of China’s growing strength, the book offers a comprehensive synthesis. -- Christina L. Davis, author of Why Adjudicate?: Enforcing Trade Rules in the WTO
Katada provides a comprehensive synthesis of East Asia’s regional political economy and analyzes Japan’s trade and investment, money and finance, development and foreign aid, showcasing a deep knowledge of Japanese internal and external economic policy. -- Takashi Inoguchi, J.F. Oberlin University * Asian Journal of Comparative Politics *
I would expect a broad range of audiences to appreciate the argument presented here in terms of both level—from upper-end undergraduates to postgraduates, researchers, and practitioners—and disciplines/subfield—from political science, quantitative methodology, and comparative politics to IPE, international relations, and even security studies. * Journal of Japanese Studies *
Succeeds in providing a comprehensive and nuanced account of this period of dramatic change in Japan’s foreign economic policy that will appeal to area specialists and political economists alike. * Monumenta Nipponica *