I. Introduction
Ever since the Meiji Restoration, the desire for international status and
recognition has critically shaped Japanese foreign policy. After brutal defeat in World
War II delegitimized colonialism and militarism as means to this end, Japanese national
energies have focused on economic growth. The attainment of economic superpower
status in the 1980s propelled diplomatic efforts to secure a commensurate place for Japan
in major international institutions. The outcome of these efforts have been distinctly
mixed. While financial contributions to institutions such as the United Nations and
World Bank have grown manifold, high profile efforts such as the quest for a permanent
seat on the UN Security Council have borne little fruit. Representation of Japanese
nationals in international bureaucracies remains limited, and popular perceptions paint
Japan as a quiescent international actor exhibiting little capacity for global leadership.
Such perceptions underestimate the challenges facing Japan as it attempts to alter
the status quo by exerting a greater role in international institutions. As numerous
international relations scholars have recognized, institutions often exhibit path
dependencies, encapsulating initial conditions and resisting change. Nonetheless,
Japanese diplomatic efforts have not been in vain. In both quantitative and qualitative
terms, Japan has secured a more prominent position within several crucial international
institutions. This exposition will focus on two such institutions, the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
1
Convention