Kojima's mentor, former foreign minister Saburo Okita, began to push the idea of a broader Pacific community in the mid-1980s. Japan's MITI was also an enthusiastic proponent. Now that APEC is on its feet, however, Mahbubani claims that Japanese support is erratic. In 1995, when Japan hosted the annual APEC summit in Osaka, both MITI and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs devoted considerable resources to making the event a success. Not so in 1996, Mahbubani says.
Nobody looks to Japan to do it.
They should be at the forefront of all countries in the region trying to create a sense of an Asia-Pacific community. But I can't see it. This depressing picture, coming from an Asian nation that has been among Japan's most ardent admirers, ought to sound warning bells in Tokyo. Edith Terry recently returned to the United States after completing a six-month Pacific Rim Fulbright Fellowship based at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. She is currently at work on a book about Japan's post-cold war Asia policies.