5The Evolution of ASEAN-Japan Economic Cooperation

The basis of Japan’s relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has always been trade and investment. According to Atarashi (1985), there are, from the Japanese perspective, four dimen-sions to this relationship: First, the structure of its international trade and investment generally depends on less-developed countries as a source of raw materials and as a market for Japanese products; second, the ship-ping lanes through the ASEAN region are crucial for the Japanese economy; third, Japan sees Southeast Asia as a significant factor in solving the North-South (developed v.s. developing countries) problem; and finally, Japan recognizes that the security and stability of the region are vital for its own comprehensive security. Japan, by means of a cooperative hegemony with the United States, undertakes a degree of leadership in East Asia. ASEAN countries, mean-while, as suppliers of raw materials and as nodes in Japan’s production network, receive extensive financial and technical assistance from Japan, especially in infrastructure development, as part of Japan’s Asia-centric strategy. The pattern of the ASEAN-Japan relationship has shifted through time from economic benefit to better understanding (heart-to-heart diplo-macy), to financial aid and assistance as a means to promote economic and political stability, and now to regional cooperation as strategic partners