Japan's links with East and Southeast Asia

Unlike the Federal Republic of Germany, Japan for many years kept its distance from those neighbouring countries that had been its enemies in the Second World War. This state of affairs has been changing for some time, but has gone unnoticed to a large extent by the international community. Although economic links with the countries of the East and Southeast Asian region are, in line with the country's character as a trading power, the focus, a change has also been occurring with respect to security policy. At the same time, the power of the economic position gained by Japan is clear. The German diplomat Heinrich Kreft, an expert well versed in matters relating to Japan and East Asia, outlines these interesting and important developments. The author would like to emphasis that, as is generally the case in this journal, this analysis reflects solely his own personal views.