The Internationalization of Japan provides the English-speaking reader with the opportunity to hear what some of Japan's leading social scientists and other commentators have to say about the internationalization of their country as well as their country's impact overseas. The topic is of extreme importance now as the international community demands a greater Japanese contribution to international society as well as changes in Japan to facilitate foreign access. The book discusses the internationalization of politics, economy and society. Topics of special interest include the...

Microregionalism and World Order is a pioneering work on the least understood aspect of regionalism. Leading specialists analyze the form microregionalism takes in different parts of the world, including the Americas, Asia Pacific and Africa. By illustrating the complex relationship amongst the political, economic and social dimensions of microregionalism, the book seeks to contribute to the theoretical debate on regionalism as well as to provide new empirical insights.

The intertwined issues of Japanese `identity' and `normality' are at the centre of the tension between internal and external pressures on Japanese defence and security policies. With chapters on peace thought, the militarisation and demilitarisation of language as well as the `hard' aspects of the Japanese military build up in the 1980s and the response to the Gulf War in the 1990s, this study challenges many of the preconceived notions on Japanese defence and security policies and the policy making process in Japan.