Includes bibliographical references (p. 305-329) and index.

Japan's changing international role / Mike M. Mochizuki -- The domestic foundations of Japan's international contribution / Masaru Kohno -- War renunciation, Article 9, and security policy / Jitsuo Tsuchiyama -- Participation in UN peacekeeping operations / Go Ito -- A defense posture for multilateral security / Michael O'Hanlon -- Adapting to global economic change / Edward J. Lincoln -- Building stable international financial relations / Yoshiko Kojo -- Responding to the Asian financial crisis / Juichi Inada -- The politics of memory in Japanese foreign relations / Thomas U. Berger -- The role of human rights: the case of Burma / Catharin Dalpino -- Dealing with a rising China / Mike M. Mochizuki -- The pragmatic liberalism of an adaptive state / Thomas U. Berger.

How have shifts in both the international environment and domestic politics affected the trajectory of Japanese foreign policy? Does it still make sense to depict Japan as passive and reactive, or have the country's leaders become strategic and proactive? This book presents a nuanced picture of Japanese foreign policy, emphasizing the ways in which slow, adaptive changes, informed by pragmatic liberalism, have served the national interest.