Multilateral means for bilateral ends: Japan, regionalism, and China–Japan–US trilateral dynamism

Abstract

The conventional understanding of Japan's approach to East Asian regionalism is that of a primacy struggle with China, using both hard and soft balancing. However, Japan's strategic priority remains extending and managing the alliance with the US in the post-Cold War era. The increasing trilateral dynamics among China, Japan and the US have largely influenced Japan's perception of its position in the alliance, which frames the basic thinking of Japan's attitudes toward regionalism. Japan's policy and diplomacy toward regionalism have been subordinate to alliance management rather than to a strategic policy shift. Meanwhile, Japan's perception of its regional influence vis-à-vis China also affects Japan's calculation in regionalism.