Conclusions

Abstract

This study has looked in detail at Japan’s policy towards antidumping and safeguard issues, the Asian financial crisis, regional industrial evolutions, and regionalism in East Asia in order to explore how Japan has changed its economic policy towards and economic relationship with East Asia since the mid-1990s. The findings in this book reveal Japan’s complicated and evolving relationship with East Asia. While policy preferences of major economic bureaucrats and societal actors have become in favour of strong integration with East Asia, actual policy initiatives did not go towards this direction straightforwardly in several policy areas. Japan has shown more willingness to assume a leadership role in East Asia, but its real commitments have been limited in several important issue areas. While Japan needed to develop collaborative relationship with China in order to promote regional cooperation in East Asia, it has sought to defend Japanese industry strategically from competitive pressure from the country.