英文摘要 |
The year of 2013 is a critical juncture for the Japan-Southeast Asia relations. It is the 40th anniversary of the Japan-ASEAN Friendship and Cooperation, endowed with significant meaning for both Southeast Asian countries and the incumbent Abe administration. The past four decades have witnessed the strategic importance of Southeast Asia and previous Prime Ministers of Japan have proposed initiatives and strategies that shifted from repairing bilateral relations with Southeast Asian countries towards enhancing new friendship among them. Hence, this article will scrutinize the development of Japan-ASEAN relations after the Second World War. Based on typological analysis, it will provide four types of regional leaderships that Japan has pursued during the past forty years. In sum, the article concludes with a discussion on how the Abe administration will conduct Southeast Asian policy in the context of intricate power politics in the Asia-Pacific region. |