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Taking issue with the likening of contemporary globalization to nineteenth century trade interdependence, in which the defining feature of contemporary globalization is the spread of global production networks, which were notably absent in the past, Maswood demonstrates that the emergence of global production networks (GPNs) was not a result of economic and trade liberalization but instead due to neo-protectionist developments in the 1980s that acted as a catalyst to transform Japan's nationally based production networks into the now ubiquitous GPNs.

This book studies specific regional issues and problems, exploring recent related political developments in Japan, and how these might impact on future foreign policy priorities and objectives.

This book focuses on the defence policy of the Nakasone administration and attempts to provide an explanation for the policy measures which its administration implemented or initiated. It suggests that the widening disparity between economic interests and political power forced Japan to review the traditional bases for defence policy making and prompted the search for a balance that would allow the country a more active role in the international sphere. The book is organized around the central theme that Nakasone's defence policy can be understood as an attempt to rehabilitate Japan as a 'normal' state and end the state of affairs that had relegated it to a unique, and low, position

Contemporary economic globalization is typically seen as a product of both trade and economic liberalization after the Second World War and of technological advances that have made it possible to overcome coordination and management of geographically dispersed production units. Trade liberalization and technological advances were certainly important variables, but I argue that it was neo-protectionist American policies of the early 1980s that provided the initial catalyst for globally networked production processes. American protectionism encouraged Japanese investment in the United States that allowed US car manufacturers to learn the essentials of network manufacturing as practiced by Japanese transplants in the United States. In the next stage of global network manufacturing, liberal trade played a much more pivotal role because the global supply chains could not obviously be maintained without liberal trade. In this paper, I also discuss the likelihood of a reversal and suggest that globalization is unlikely to reversed in a significant way. Liberal trade is essential to the integrity of global supply chain networks, but these new production processes have themselves created a firewall against future systemic protectionism.

As the author sees it, despite an important and highly visible economic role, and contrary to expectations, the Japanese government has been extremely reticent about playing an active political role on the international stage. He looks at the crisis sparked by the Iraqui invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 and examines the Japanese response as well as the implications for future Japanese foreign policy. (DÜI-Sen)