Mindful of the failures of its predecessor, the League of Nations, the founders of the redesigned body established the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and awarded it “almost limitless power when it came to dealing with violations of peace”. The intergovernmental organization has risen as an essential platform for the promotion of global governance in which states “can elaborate and extend international law in areas such as human rights, international trade, the sea, and the fight against terrorism”. Enshrined in the United Nations (UN) Charter was the vision for the organization to be “a guardian of international peace and security, as a promoter of human rights, as a protector of international law, and as an engineer of socioeconomic advancement”. J.Following the Second World War, the international community was reinvigorated to design an international body with the capability to limit the onset of another world war. In doing so, he adds considerably to our understanding of Japanese politics and Japaneseforeign policy. Miyashita challenges a number of preexisting conclusions about Japanese aid policy and he provides an excellent case insupport of alternative explanations. Pempel, Director, Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley
In doing so, he adds considerably to our understanding of Japanese politics and Japanese foreignpolicy. Miyashita challenges a number of preexisting conclusions about Japanese aid policy and he provides an excellent case in support of alternative explanations. The book, well-written and forcefully argued, takes us beyond the more traditional way of looking at Japanese foreign aid.At the same time, it is not a book just about foreign aid it also addresses why Japan is sensitive to American pressure. This is a very useful addition to the literature on Japanese foreign aid policy. Gerald Curtis, Professor of Political Science, Columbia University Miyashita has written an interesting and important book. Miyashita's well-argued point is that other things are not equal and that it is Japan's asymmetric dependence on the United States that makes it a soft target for gaiatsu, the effective application of American pressure on Japan's foreign aid policy.
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Through a series of vivid case studies of Japanese foreign aid policy, Miyashita shows how the primacy of Japan's American connection often drives Japanese policy in directions the Japanese government, other things being equal, would prefer not to go. Akio Watanabe, University of Tokyo (Emeritus) The analytic precision that is brought to bear allows this study to eclipse other work in this area. He reminds us that Japan has not truly escaped its asymmetric dependence on the United States.
Miyashita operates in a realist world and sets the research question in the broader context of Japan's rise in the interstate hierarchy over the past few decades. Limits to Power boldly challenges current arguments that Japan has successfully distanced itself from "reactive" politics. opinion reflects an act of will on Japan's part, rather than a lack of coherent policy stemming from bureaucratic politics. After analyzing critical junctures in Japan's history of foreign aid to China, Vietnam, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, he concludes that Japan's consistent sway under U.S. Miyashita critically reviews the existing literature on Japanese foreign aid, then tests his own argument against five case studies. results from Japan's continuing role as the more dependent partner in the two countries' interdependent diplomatic and economic relationship.
In Limits to Power, Akitoshi Miyashita posits that Japan's deference to the will of the U.S. preferences regarding foreign aid policy appears counterintuitive, since Japan's demonstrated capability to donate funds rivals and has previously surpassed that of the U.S. Why does the Japanese government often alter its course of action under pressure from the United States, even when doing so apparently undermines Japan's own interests? Japan's marked responsiveness to U.S.