The Asia-Pacific Profile offers a unique combination of maps, diagrams, documents, and statistical data covering every state around and within the Pacific: North-East and South-East Asia, the western rim of Central and South America, the Pacific island states, the Russian Far East, North America, and Australia. Key features include over 25 historical and contemporary maps featuring flows of labour, trade, investment, tourists and telecommunications, and empires, wars, colonial struggles and environmental degradation; succinct surveys of historical developments and contemporary political issues; over 500 diagrams depicting key demographic, economic and social changes since 1970 with appendices showing the actual data used and their sources; and key documents that have shaped the Asia-Pacific including founding charters of contemporary organizations such as APEC, ASEAN, NAFTA and the WTO, treaties and declarations that started and later resolved conflicts within and between states over politico-economic issues, and essential social rights documents concerning indigenous peoples. The Asia-Pacific Profile has been designed for those studying or with a general interest in the politics, economics and international relations of the Asia-Pacific region.

This book, first published in 1984, examines the spectacular economic growth of the Asia Pacific region in the 1970s and 1980s. How did a group of non-Western nations, in an area plagued by war, achieve such success, so quickly? Japan was the driving force in the region, and a dominant influence on the world economy, but had no clearly defined role in the politics of the region or the world. This book considers Japan’s position, the problems it faced and how it perceived and responded to events in the region. It provides clues to understanding the basic pattern of Japan’s relations, its evolving role in the region and the world, and how this role might develop in the future.