Japan's Foreign Policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean
Japan's understanding of the international situation and the core elements of its foreign policy
The age of the cold war between East and West has drawn to a
close, but the international situation continues to be unsettled.
Nonetheless, the international community's unceasing efforts to
secure permanent peace and prosperity are beginning to meet with
success. Progress is being made in resolving the conflicts in the
former Yugoslavia and the Middle East and also in defusing the
nuclear problem in North Korea.
In this international setting Japan, recognizing that its own
security and prosperity are dependent on peace and prosperity in
the international community, is pursuing a foreign policy that is
founded on partnership with the United States and that seeks to
strengthen relations of friendship and cooperation with all parts
of the world, including the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America,
and Europe. In order to achieve a prosperous world economy and a
pattern of sustainable development, Japan is stepping up its
efforts to preserve and strengthen the system of multilateral
free trade now being overseen by the World Trade Organization. As
humankind moves toward the twenty-first century, it has
encountered various global problems involving issues like food,
population, environmental conservation, resources, energy, and
drugs. These problems also occupy an important place in Japan's
foreign policy and are being actively tackled.
The place of Latin America in Japan's foreign policy
These basic orientations in Japan's diplomacy have given form
to its foreign policy on Latin America. Taking into consideration
the new developments in the Latin American region, Japan is
pursuing a policy of becoming increasingly active in assisting
stability and development in close cooperation with the region's
countries, and thereby contributing to the world's peace and
prosperity.
Latin American countries went through a difficult period in what
became known as the "lost decade" of the 1980s when
they suffered from the trilemma of slow economic growth,
galloping inflation, and accumulating debts. In the 1990s,
though, we have observed a dynamic change in this region: Its
countries have been energetically implementing measures to
achieve democratization and economic reforms, and while pursuing
realistic foreign policies based on international cooperation,
they have been moving toward increased cooperation and
integration within the region.
Practically all the countries in the Organization of American
States (OAS) have achieved democratization, and efforts to ensure
that democracy takes root are still going forward, as evidenced
by the ongoing series of presidential elections since 1994.
Meanwhile, the macroeconomic indices of Latin American countries
are far healthier today than they were in the 1980s. The
"tequila shock" touched off by the Mexican currency
crisis at the end of 1994 has been basically overcome with help
from international financial support and the retrenchment
policies of Latin American governments, and the region's
economies have entered a phase of recovery. In this setting of
both political and economic stability, moves toward regional
economic integration have recently been gaining momentum. An
expanding volume of intraregional trade and the emergence of
large markets are working together with the lure of Latin
America's huge growth potential to attract the world's attention.
The basic orientation of Japan's foreign policy on Latin America
The basic policy targets Japan has set in its diplomacy toward Latin America are to secure long-term stability, to help democratic systems and market economies take root, and to strengthen international cooperative mechanisms. Toward this end, Japan extends support to the "two D's" -- Democracy and Development. That is, it provides aid to promote democratization in Latin America, and it cooperates in economic reforms aimed at building market economies. The conviction that has shaped this policy is that democracy and development are like the two wheels of a cart, that true peace and prosperity cannot be reached when only one wheel is turning.
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