The origins of Japan's APEC policy: Foreign Minister Takeo Miki's Asia‐Pacific policy and current implications

Abstract

Japan, along with Australia, took the initiative in establishing the economic institutions such as PAFTAD, PBEC, PECC and APEC in Asia and the Pacific. ‘Asia‐Pacific policy’, launched by Japanese Foreign Minister Takeo Miki in December 1966, is regarded as the forerunner to Asia‐Pacific regionalism in Japan. The policy has not yet seriously been analysed and it is not clear how and why Miki's Asia‐Pacific policy is relevant to subsequent economic cooperation in Asia and the Pacific. The paper first highlights this point by focusing on Miki's ideas and Japan's position in international politics. Then it analyses the policy's implications for Japan's subsequent approaches to Asia‐Pacific regionalism, especially with regard to PECC and APEC. The paper identifies four implications of the policy which: (1) created a new concept of ‘Asia‐Pacific’ in Japan's foreign policy and provided a basic setting for Japan's ideas on regional economic cooperation; (2) planted the seed for the Australia‐Japan partnership which took the initiative in establishing PECC and APEC; (3) contributed to the formation of PAFTAD, which later made an intellectual contribution to PECC and APEC; and (4) created an initial opportunity to incorporate the concept of ‘open regionalism’ into Japan's trade policy. Although the impact of Miki's Asia‐Pacific policy was not realized during his term, he left a mark on the history of Asia‐Pacific economic cooperation by establishing the foundations for Japan to commit itself to PECC and APEC. The paper thus maintains that Miki's Asia‐Pacific policy can be regarded as forming the basis of Japan's APEC policy.