Revision of Japan’s Foreign Policy After Donald Trump’s Electoral Victory

Karol Żakowski

doi:10.18778/1641-4233.23.06

Authors

Karol Żakowski University of Lodz, Faculty of International and Political Studies, Department of Asian Studies

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1641-4233.23.06

Keywords:

Japan, foreign policy, Donald Trump, Japan–US relations

Abstract

The article analyzes the process of modification of Japan’s foreign policy after Donald Trump’s election as US president. As short- and middle-range aims of Japan’s diplomatic strategy were outlined with expectation of victory of Hillary Clinton, Tokyo was forced to abruptly change its policy. Relying on the neoclassical realist theory, the article examines the complex interaction between the external factors, such as security threats from North Korea or China, and domestic factors both in Japan and the US, that is personal, institutional, societal and economic determinants. It is argued that while it was strategic convergence between Tokyo and Washington that enabled relatively smooth cooperation between Prime Minister Abe and President Trump, internal factors, such as right-wing credentials of both decision makers, distorted and to some extent facilitated this process.

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Author Biography

Karol Żakowski, University of Lodz, Faculty of International and Political Studies, Department of Asian Studies

Karol Żakowski - PhD (2010) and habilitation (2016) in political science, is an Associate Professor at the Department of Asian Studies, Faculty of International and Political Studies, University of Lodz. He was a visiting scholar at the Kwansei Gakuin University (2008–2009), Keio University (2012–2013, Japan Foundation Japanese Studies Fellowship) and the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo (2016), as well as a participant of a Japanese language course in the Japan Foundation Japanese Language Institute, Kansai (2006), and an internship in the Japanese Diet (2009). He is a member of Nihon Seiji Gakkai (Japanese Political Science Association), Association for Asian Studies, International Political Science Association, European Association for Japanese Studies, and British Association for Japanese Studies. His recent monographs include: Decision-Making Reform in Japan: The DPJ’s Failed Attempt at a Politician-Led Government (Routledge 2015) and Japan’s Foreign Policy Making: Central Government Reforms, Decision-Making Processes, and Diplomacy (co-authored with Beata Bochorodycz and Marcin Socha, Springer 2018).

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