Evidence
A may be expected of such a complex phenomenon, the actual evidence is
occasionally ambiguous, overlapping, or contradictory. Some of the criteria developed
above also overlap, at least to some degree. In this section, I present a variety of relevant
evidence loosely organized by theme, which is summarized at the end of the section in a
table. In the next section, I compare it to the criteria.
First, it must be made clear that there is a great deal of public interest in Japan in
the general issue of East Asian regionalism. Works on financial regionalism constitute a
small but vibrant corner of the debate, and are almost invariably positive about the
prospects for substantial cooperation and practical success in the various initiatives
underway. In particular, advocacy of ambitious regional projects such as an Asian
Economic Community or a unified currency seem de rigeur, even when the authors are
careful to highlight obstacles. A number of the writers in this vein are economists and
former bureaucrats closely associated with the International Bureau of MOF.
Nonetheless, there has been virtually no attention paid to these issues by
politicians, although political leaders have been generally supportive. There was a brief
explosion of interest among Dietmembers soon after the AFC, including even the
formation of a Sub-Committee to Promote the Internationalization of the Yen within the
Liberal Democratic Party.
However, once participants learned that success was not
assured and that there might be practical costs in terms of policy shifts, interest in the
sub-committee rapidly waned and the committee itself disappeared.
than official statements by the finance minister and his appointed subordinates, there
39
These include, among others, Sakakibara Eisuke 2005, Kuroda Haruhiko 2005, Kondô
Takehiko 2003, Itô Takatoshi 2005, and Kawai Masahiro 2005. Another work in this
vein, Ônishi Yoshihisa 2005, is by a retired BOJ official.
40
SGPIY 2000 and 2001
41
Interviews with members of the sub-committee in 2000 and 2001.
Grimes, Regional Turn - 19
Convention