This IQAS special issue sheds light on Japan’s role in Southeast Asian political, security, economic, and cultural exchanges in the 21st Century. Southeast Asia, a region rich in raw materials, has attracted the attention of several imperial powers, including Japan, throughout history. Since the early 1960s, the development of industry, infrastructure and the service economy have been shaped by Japanese investments. Recent transformations, particularly the growing Chinese influence, create a new dynamic within economic and trade arrangements, as well as in political coordination and confrontation.
This issue offers a glimpse into the complex network of relations tying Japan to Southeast Asia and vice versa. On the one hand, it focuses on the major drivers determining contemporary patterns of cooperation, highlighting the increasing role of security; on the other hand, it sheds light on the intraregional mobility of ideas, knowledge and know-how, particularly in terms of urban development policies, where regional competition and Japan’s influence are more visible.
Selected articles
Mutual Transformations – Southeast Asia and Japan in the 21st Century
Marco Zappa
Negotiation of Strategic Distance: A Smart City Project with Japanese Official Development Assistance in Bang Sue, Thailand
Kie Sanada, Kentaro Kuwatsuka