The Role of Research Centers in Shaping Japanese Foreign Policy: A Critical Review of the Political Literature
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58298/822025748Keywords:
Think Tanks , Japanese Foreign Policy , Political Elites , Policy-Making Circles, Informal Network.Abstract
This Study offers a critical review of the political literature concerning the role of Japanese think tanks in shaping and influencing foreign policy the review reveals that despite their post WWII growth and diversification these institutions continue to operate within a bureaucratic and consensus driven political environment The literature highlights their limited independence and their integration within elite networks especially through informal closed Policy circles the impact of think tanks in japan largely functional and indirect serving primarily as providers of technical information and analysis rather than as autonomous agents of strategic change . The study calls for a re-evaluation of dominant western theoretical frameworks and advocates for alternative approaches that better reflect the institutional and cultural specificities of the Japanese model
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