| Summary: | As a contributory effort to the current academic debate, this paper will use the
“Middle Power” framework developed by Dong-min Shin to explain Japan’s diplomacy in
Southeast Asia, in terms of its interests, tools of influence, as well as limitations. The use of
Shin’s framework for this paper will hopefully address the current skewed and fragmented
understandings held by academic scholars on Japan’s foreign policy in the region. To
exemplify Japan’s tools of influence in the region, this paper will analyze the “Free and Open
Indo-Pacific” (FOIP) Initiative, one that was held up by the Japanese government and guides
Japan’s operations in the Indo-Pacific region (particularly in Southeast Asia), permeating
three dimensions: politics, economics, and security. This paper will start out with a Literature
Review of current competing explanations of Japan’s diplomatic personas in Southeast Asia,
followed by Shin’s more recently developed Middle-Power framework covering; 1. Japan’s
Interests, 2. Japan’s influence through its diplomatic tools, typically cooperation with
ASEAN members and major stakeholders of this region, and finally 3. An assessment of the
aforementioned influence to answer whether the “Middle Power” identity resonates with
Japan’s diplomatic path in the Southeast Asia region.
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