Covering not only the key regional players of China and the Koreas, this textbook encompasses chapters on Japan’s relations with India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand, along with its multilateral engagement and initiatives. Written by leading experts this book will appeal to students of Japanese politics and foreign policy.

Introduction, James Brown and Jeff Kingston Part I: Foundations 1. Japan’s foreign relations in Cold War Asia 1945-1990, Jeff Kingston 2. International relations theory and Japanese foreign policy, Gilbert Rozman Part II: Regional Themes 3. Evolution or new doctrine? Japanese security policy in the era of collective self-defense, Daniel Sneider 4. Japan’s security policy in the context of the US-Japan Alliance: the emergence of an ‘Abe Doctrine’, Christopher Hughes 5. Japan’s disarmament tightropes and triangulation, Brad Glosserman 6. China’s grandiose maritime ambitions challenge Japan, Howard W. French 7. Japan’s Aspirational idea of inherency, Alexis Dudden 8. "Commitment by presence": naval diplomacy and Japanese defense engagement in Southeast Asia, Alessio Patalano 9. The triumph of hope over experience: the false promise of Japanese soft power in East Asia, Thomas U. Berger 10. Japan’s multilateralism in Asia, Tina Burrett 11. Japan’s reconciliation diplomacy in Northeast Asia, Togo Kazuhiko 12. Japan’s rivalry with China in Southeast Asia: ODA, the AIIB, infrastructural projects, Mekong Basin and the disputed South China Sea, Lam Peng Er Part III: Bilateral Relations 13. China in Japan’s nation-state identity, Satoh Haruko 14. Post-Cold War Sino-Japanese relations and Japan’s China Policy: the rise of strategic realism, Giulio Pugliese 15. Shadow boxing: Japan’s para-diplomacy with Taiwan, Jeff Kingston 16. Sour partners: Japan and South Korea’s uncomfortable compromise for cooperation, Cheol Hee Park 17. Japan–North Korea relations, Aurelia George Mulgan 18. Japan’s foreign relations with Russia: unfulfilled potential, James D.J. Brown 19. Japan’s post-Cold War foreign policy toward Indonesia, Honna Jun 20. Japanese–Thai relations: on a chessboard of domestic and regional politics, Pavin Chachavalpongpun 21. The evolution of Japan–Myanmar relations since 1988, Ryan Hartley 22. Japan’s foreign relations with the Philippines: a case of evolving Japan in Asia, Takagi Yusuke and Maria Thaemar Tana 23. Japan–Vietnam relations: implementation of the "strategic partnership", Nakano Ari 24. Japan's foreign relations with India, Varun Tomar and Giorgio Shani