Political Economy of Japanese Free Trade Network with ASEAN: Implications for Sino-Japanese Rivalry in East Asia

Many scholars have argued that Japanese involvement in free trade agreements (FTA) with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is part of a regional competition with China over leadership in East Asia. However, this paper redefines the vigorous Japanese pursuit of FTA policies with ASEAN as an essential agenda to serve various economic and political domestic interests of Japan.