Japan Rising: the resurgence of Japanese power and purpose

This is a book about Japanese grand strategy. Its author, Kenneth B. Pyle, is one of the authoritative voices on Japan in the United States – a history professor and the founding president of the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBAR), a major US think-tank on Asia. The book is addressed primarily to the policy community of the United States. It offers a timely contribution on Japan when China attracts the vast majority of policy circles' attention in Washington, D.C. As its title indicates, the book tells Americans that Japan, while shedding its Cold War strategy based on the Yoshida Doctrine, is ‘preparing to become a major player in the strategic struggles of the twenty-first century’ (p. 17). The most policy-relevant section is ‘Epilogue: Japan's Twenty-First Century Resurgence,’ whose basic conclusion is that a realist Japan is coming back. In Pyle's view, history is repeating: Japan is, as it has done since the Meiji period, refocusing itself to maximize its strategic interest, now that security-institutional reforms have started.