The EU and Japan have one of the most important trade relationships in the world. Fittingly, this book presents a detailed analysis of their bilateral regulatory environment and negotiation processes. Moreover, the two polities have also co-operated extensively in bilateral and multilateral contexts on a range of global governance issues. Nevertheless, the relationship is widely acknowledged to have significant untapped potential. Deploying the concept of civilian power, the book takes a fresh, honest and provocative look at this important relationship, in a post-Fukushima, post-sovereign debt crisis world. First the book analyses the place of EU-Japan relations within the worldviews of the Japanese and European bodies politic. Subsequently, three thematic sections evaluate their cooperation on such issues as trade, energy security, environmental politics, development, human rights, post-conflict reconstruction, health and biosecurity. The eminent scholars of the EU-Japan relationship gathered in this book offer informed, empirically rich and policy-relevant insights into the present and future prospects for the relationship.

This timely book explores the relationship between Japan and the European Union as they work increasingly closely together in many areas of global governance. It discusses the most salient areas of such cooperation from a range of perspectives, while examining not just convergences but also differences, in light of the recent EU–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement and Strategic Partnership Agreement.

"In Japan and the European Union, Dr. Abe sets out to answer a number of crucial questions on the effect of Japan's international relations upon its internal affairs - in particular how international issues, and Japan's growing relationship with the EU, have come to penetrate the political economy and decision-making structure in Japanese industry and legislation. Japan/EU affairs have never been marked by any significant political relations, and until the past twenty years, characterised by a reserved indifference. However, as a result of accelerated political and economic changes in the past decade, the two economic giants have made considerable efforts to nurture bilateral relations largely initiated by trade concerns. The author examines the development of this relationship informed by International Relations perspectives and taking into account the growing dependence of successful bilateral relations on the international political economy." "Furthermore, Dr. Abe explains the attempt that has been made to resolve Japanese/EU disputes by way of a Joint Declaration. This includes an examination of the 1991 Automobile Agreement involving Japan, the EC Commission and the Japanese manufacturers; and the Liquor Tax dispute which ran from 1986-1995. Throughout this account, the concerns of the United States, and its impact on this relationship, are fully registered."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The EU and Japan have one of the most important trade relationships in the world. Fittingly, this book presents a detailed analysis of their bilateral regulatory environment and negotiation processes. Moreover, the two polities have also co-operated extensively in bilateral and multilateral contexts on a range of global governance issues. Nevertheless, the relationship is widely acknowledged to have significant untapped potential. Deploying the concept of civilian power, the book takes a fresh, honest and provocative look at this important relationship, in a post-Fukushima, post-sovereign debt crisis world. First the book analyses the place of EU-Japan relations within the worldviews of the Japanese and European bodies politic. Subsequently, three thematic sections evaluate their cooperation on such issues as trade, energy security, environmental politics, development, human rights, post-conflict reconstruction, health and biosecurity. The eminent scholars of the EU-Japan relationship gathered in this book offer informed, empirically rich and policy-relevant insights into the present and future prospects for the relationship.

Relations between Japan and the EU rarely hit the headlines, but the changing global geopolitical balance in the 1990s has prompted Japan to reassess its international role and to question the basis upon which its foreign economic policies have rested for the past half century. This book traces the history of Japan's interaction with the EU and assesses how together they have the potential to offer joint solutions to the problems of the 21st century. In examining the development of that cooperation, the book also analyzes the importance of mutual perceptions for creating the right environment in which bilateral relations may prosper.

Both the European Union and Japan have been major beneficiaries and supporters of the liberal international order, first led by the United States since the end of World War II. During this period, they have emerged as global powers, however, the very order that nurtured their rise is now facing twin threats. First, through authoritarian China’s promotion of alternative models of global governance, and second from a crisis of liberalism, manifested in the policies of President Donald Trump and Brexit. This book explores these challenges faced by both the EU and Japan, providing a multidisciplinary approach to studying the relationship between the two. It analyses their cooperation in terms of security, defence and trade and examines how their shared normative values are ultimately implemented. Having recently concluded an Economic Partnership Agreement and with a Strategic Partnership Agreement in the pipeline, this book asks whether they can convert their latent and modest cooperation into an alternative form of leadership and an antidote to the illiberal tide sweeping the developed world? As the first book to shed light on the new Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and Japan, this book will be useful to students and scholars of Japanese Studies, as well as European Union politics and international political economy more generally.

Presenting the history of relations between the European Union and Japan, this book explains the origins and significance of the momentous 2018 Economic Partnership Agreement and its parallel Strategic Partnership Agreement. Set within the historical context of the 1991 Hague Declaration and Action Plan of 2001, this book analyses the impact of recent background changes to the liberal trading order, the proliferation of free trade agreements, and uncertainty about role of the United States in the world on relations between Japan and the EU. Adopting a path-dependent approach, it illustrates how these agreements were reached as a result of growing patterns of cooperative behaviour between the EU and Japan, and the imprint of shared past experiences in areas from trade to security. In so doing, this book also raises important questions about the future of multilateral cooperation, exploring the potential for bilateral agreements to undermine the possibility of finding international solutions to increasingly international problems. EU–Japan Relations and the Crisis of Multilateralism will appeal to students and scholars of European and Japanese politics and international relations, as well as policymakers internationally with an interest in these significant agreements.