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The Adaptation of Japanese Economic Statecraft: Trade, Aid, and Technology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2021

Kristi Govella Open the ORCID record for Kristi Govella [Opens in a new window]
Kristi Govella*
Affiliation:
Department of Asian Studies, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, USA
*
*Email: kgovella@hawaii.edu
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Abstract

This article examines how Japan has adapted economic statecraft to serve changing strategic aims through case studies of trade arrangements, official development assistance, and dual-use technology. After World War II, Japan continuously adapted these economic tools to pursue shifting non-economic goals related to international reintegration, comprehensive security, human security, and traditional security. More recently, in response to escalating US–China strategic competition, Japan has employed economic statecraft to simultaneously reduce international instability and to counter China in targeted ways as part of a broader hedging approach. First, Japan has attempted to bolster multilateral trade arrangements amid a volatile policy environment, while also using them to both engage and counter China. Second, Japan has used official development assistance to stabilize and build defense capacity in Asian countries facing pressure from China. Third, Japan has increasingly militarized its dual-use technologies to enhance its ability to respond to Chinese activity in outer space.

Keywords

Economic statecraftJapantradeaiddual-use technologyUS–China competition
Type
Original Article
Information
World Trade Review , Volume 20 , Special Issue 2: Economic Statecraft and Global Trade in the 21st Century , May 2021 , pp. 186 - 202
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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