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.

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.

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. Written by experts from both Europe and Japan, interdisciplinary chapters investigate both actors' current approaches to global governance and multilateralism as well as providing a historical perspective on their bilateral relations. The book explores their cooperation in areas stretching from trade and finance to security in light of the recent EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement and Strategic Partnership Agreement. Offering insights into their current relationship, it outlines challenges for the future, and draws relevant lessons from the history of global governance in Asia and Europe. Scholars of Asian and European law with an interest in international governance and regulation, and particularly those working in EU-Japan affairs, will find this a significant and stimulating read. It will also be useful for policy-makers in the EU and Japan working in international security, trade, and economic, monetary and financial policy.

This book presents a comprehensive overview of EU-Japan relations from 1970 to the present. It charts developments over the period, analyses key specific areas of importance to the relationship, and concludes by assessing how the relationship is likely to develop going forward. Throughout, the book discusses the factors on both sides which motivate the relationship, including Japan’s concern to secure markets for its advanced industrial products, and the factors motivating current negotiations for a deeper and more comprehensive economic and cooperative partnership.

Relations between the EU and East Asia have consistently expanded in recent years, particularly between the EU and Japan. Against the background of negotiations on an economic and strategic partnership agreement, the EU–Japan relationship is set to become the single most comprehensive ‘region-to-state’ relationship the world has known today, accounting for more than a third of world GDP and a combined population of more than 600 million people. This book addresses the potential role of the EU, in cooperation with Japan, to craft a stable and prosperous mode of governance in the Asian region. In today’s globalized world seemingly defined by waxing Chinese power and waning American power, the book reflects the lack of appreciation for an EU-Japan concert in maintaining and developing multilateral principles. It aims towards fortifying this relationship by acknowledging that in order to enhance the credibility and capabilities of such an alliance, it is necessary to take stock of where the partnership stands today, what kind of obstacles still need to be overcome and which options have been left untouched. By introducing state-of-the-art empirical research in multiple fields, this book will be of key interest to students and scholars of international relations, comparative regionalism, the European Union and Japanese politics.