Japan's Development Aid to China (Routledge Studies in the Growth Economies of Asia) Book

Paradoxically, Japan provides massive amounts of development aid to China, despite Japan's clear perception of China as an important competitor in the Asia-Pacific region. This book provides an overview of the way Japan's aid to China has developed since 1979, explains the shifts that have taken place in Japan's China policy in the 1990s against the background of international changes and domestic changes in both countries, and offers new insights into the way Japanese aid policy-making functions, thereby providing an alternative view of Japanese policy making that might be applied to other areas. It argues that, contrary to the widely held view that Japan's aid to China is given for reasons of commercial self-interest, the objectives are much more complex and dynamic. It shows especially how policymaking power within the Japanese government has shifted in recent years away from officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to politicians in the Liberal Democratic Party.Read More