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Japan’s return to Latin America and the Caribbean: A hedging strategy in the face of China’s growth?

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Vol. 52 No. 197 (2020): September-December
https://doi.org/10.5354/0719-3769.2020.55477

Abstract

In September 2020, an eight-year term of office ended in Japan, during which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ruled. One of his legacies has been an active foreign policy and the repositioning of Japan in the world. A first objective of this article is to analyze what Japanese diplomacy has called the “return” of Japan to Latin America and the Caribbean. To this end, an index of government visits was created to compare this increased Japanese presence by country and by year. The second objective is to analyze the possible reasons for this revaluation of the Latin American region. To this end, several pre-existing hypotheses are discussed, including a more internationalist foreign policy and economic determinants. Based on the literature on how countries respond to growing powers, a third hypothesis is put forward that the return is related to the increased presence of China in the region. The article serves a double purpose, on the one hand it summarizes the debate in the existing literature on Japan’s relations with Latin America, a topic forgotten by International Relations in recent years, and on the other hand, it offers new data that allows us to observe Japan’s return to Latin America. In turn, this article contributes to the debate on China’s role in the region and on how countries respond to the growth of an emerging power.

Keywords:

Foreign Policy, Japan, China, Hedging, Latin America

Author Biography

Diego Telias, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Doctorando en Ciencia Política de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Asistente Editorial de la Revista de Ciencia Política. Becario CONICYT PFCHA/DOCTORADO BECAS NACIONALES/2019 – 21190329.

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How to Cite
Telias, D. (2021). Japan’s return to Latin America and the Caribbean: A hedging strategy in the face of China’s growth?. Estudios Internacionales, 52(197), 9–37. https://doi.org/10.5354/0719-3769.2020.55477
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Estudios Internacionales
Instituto de Estudios Internacionales
Universidad de Chile
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