Ours is an era when the relation between a nation's domestic condition and its foreign policies has become increasingly close. Japan is no exception. That nation's post-1945 leadership, political institutions, and economic policies have combined with a cultural legacy, modified but still influential, to provide the foundations of contemporary Japanese foreign policy. While aspects of that foreign policy are now under intensive review and may undergo substantial alterations in the years immediately ahead, such development cannot diverge greatly from the indigenous sources that provide them with support.
