Advancing Regionalism and Economic Cooperation in Asia

This chapter provides a historical overview of regional cooperation and regionalism pursued in Asia, particularly in East Asia, with a focus on the contemporary period. Specifically, it traces the development of regional cooperation and regionalism from Japan’s conception of the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere in the first half of the twentieth century to the postwar period. The study will examine how regional cooperation has dramatically developed through institutionalization, which was triggered by the Asian currency crisis, and how it has been influenced by and linked to regional integration in the West. Furthermore, we will confirm that the emergence of new structures in this century has brought about a further phase of change, and we will examine its current characteristics and challenges.