Japan's International Relations

'The launch of China’s first aircraft carrier, North Korea’s belated return to the Six Party Talks, the crisis over the Fukushima nuclear reactor, renewed Japanese interest in regional institutions, concern about the US economy, political instability in Japan itself – these are the stuff of current commentary in mid-2011. This, the third edition of this widely used textbook on the International Relations of Japan, gives the reader a firm grasp of the political complexities behind all this. East Asia, as the authors are fully aware, is moving to centre stage, with potential both for solving global problems and for destructive conflict.' Professor J. A. A. Stockwin, former Director, Nissan Institute for Japanese Studies, University of Oxford

'Japan's foreign policy has been undergoing seismic shifts since the second edition of this fine book. A rising China, a now-nuclear North Korea, and an America bogged down in wars in Central Asia and the Middle East are but the most conspicuous of the major new challenges that confront Japanese policymakers. Experts and novices alike will find no deeper or more up-to-date analysis of these subjects than this new edition of Japan's International Relations.'ProfessorT.J. Pempel, Department of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley, USA

'This book is a tour de force in its encyclopaedic range and in the uniformly outstanding quality of the writing by the four different contributors. It will serve as a ‘one-stop shop’ to understanding the major explanations and interpretations of Japan as an international actor.'Professor Aurelia George Mulgan, University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy, Australia