Japan, an Imminent Hegemon?

In: The annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Volume 513, Issue 1, p. 151-163

Abstract

Japan has been thrust into a leading role in world affairs by its own economic success and by the confluence of two powerful global trends: (1) hegemonic cycles that anticipate the rise of a new hegemon as a consequence of the relative decline of the United States, and (2) the end of history itself, which revolutionizes the meaning of hegemony and international order. Japan's hegemonic qualifications are examined with respect to economic resources by which to finance hegemony and its ability and will to lead the world. Japanese-style hegemony is inferred from the known characteristics of government-business relations in Japan and evaluated in the context of U.S.-Japanese relations. It is concluded that the Pax Americana is hardly dead and that Japan finds it more advantageous to fit into modified American hegemony than to go it alone by replacing America as a new hegemon.