Introduction

Japanese foreign policy is undergoing profound developments in response to changes in the country’s strategic environment as well as transformations in the way in which Japanese foreign policy is conducted. As a reflection of this, as well as in consideration of an evolution in the way in which international relations is taught and studied, cutting-edge research in this field is also shifting. This corresponds to the actors and institutions that scholars deem to be most relevant, as well as the theoretical tools that can best explain Japanese foreign policy in the twenty-first century.