Japanese Foreign Policy: No Longer Reactive?

This article revisits the thesis put forward by Kent Calder that Japan's foreign policy is made by a reactive state incapable of sustained, innovative policy. Reviewing six recent books, we find that, while the reactive state thesis continues to inform scholarsip on the subject, new frameworks offer possibilities for seeing Japan's foreign policy as innovative and at times strategic. This article considers the strengths and weaknesses in recent attempts to create a more proactive foreign policy.