Japan’s Diplomacy between the East and the West

Japan’s diplomacy has, over the course of the last 170 years, adapted to changing regional and global conditions and promoted Japan’s national objectives and domestic needs. Multiple actors are involved in Japan’s diplomacy, and these actors have used various diplomatic tactics and instruments to achieve their goals. This special issue expands the horizon of how we understand and analyse the subject. The volume consists of six full-length research articles with a broader focus on Japan’s diplomacy and three shorter forum essays emphasizing contemporary challenges facing Japan. To set the stage, this framing article covers a brief history of Japan’s diplomacy and outlines four sets of dominant analytical lenses, before providing the synopses and contributions of the special issue. The collection illustrates how diverse actors and various diplomatic styles over the course of Japan’s modern history enabled Japan to engage strategically with its outside world

Diplomacy · Diplomatic history · Foreign policy · Horizon · International relations · Balkan and Eastern European Studies · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Japanese History and Culture