Change and response in Japan's international economic policy

The establishment of a liberal multilateral trading system in the postwar period presented opportunities for rapid economic growth for Japan, and for other countries in East Asia and the Pacific, including Australia. The strength of the American economy and American political leadership ensured, for almost a generation, economic and trade growth that provided the substantial underpinning for the Western economic and security alliance. The success of the liberal international economic system, the rise of Japan and Europe as major centers of economic power and its converse, the declining relative importance of North America in the world economy, bring new challenges to international trade and economic diplomacy. These challenges focus heavily upon Japan