Publisher's Note

February, 2009

AJISS Commentary aims to present a variety of Japanese views on international relations to international intellectuals interested in Japanese external policy. For these purposes, AJISS-Commentary invites a wide range of Japanese thinkers and practitioners to express their views.

Three leading Japanese think tanks have joined forces to form The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies (AJISS) to publish AJISS-Commentary. The institutes are:

— Nakasone Yasuhiro Peace Institute

— The Japan Institute of International Affairs (Secretariat)

— Research Institute for Peace and Security

Editorial Advisory Board: Tsutomu Kikuchi (Chair) Ichiro Fujisaki Hideshi Tokuchi Kenichiro Sasae

Editorial Committee: Tsutomu Kikuchi Shin Kawashima Junko Tanaka Shujiro Urata and Tomiko Ichikawa

AJISS-Commentary is an occasional op-ed type publication. The views expressed are the authors' own and should not be attributed to The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies.

Kenichiro Sasae Online Publisher, AJISS-Commentary President, The Japan Institute of International Affairs