Is Japan falling or re-rising? / Hidekazu Sakai -- Japan's new grand strategy : "pro-active realism" in the face of an "increasingly severe" security environment / Thomas S. Wilkins -- The Japan-China-U.S. triangle : Japan's response and prospects for the U.S.-Japan security alliance / Michael R. Porter -- Japanese nationalism and foreign policy / Keiko Hirata -- Japan's civil society : a source of strength / Philip Streich -- Do changes in governing party lead to changes in foreign policy? : evidence from Japan / Paul Midford -- Contending state identities and Japan's policy toward the "War on Terror" in Afghanistan (2001-2010) : from a "normal state" to an "autonomous civilian power" / Kivilcim Erkan -- Japanese foreign policy and East Asian regionalism : inherently interlinked / Charly von Solms -- "Private sector diplomacy" in Sino-Japanese relations / Lindsay Black -- Joining the new great game? : Japan's quest for region-building in Central Asia / Kuniko Ashizawa -- Abe's Japan : manifestation of a quiet transformation in power and values / Yoichiro Sato