Geo-economics and the Hub and Spokes system: the Japanese case

Abstract

This paper examines the reasons why Japan has been building a foreign trade policy based on a hub-and-spokes system. It will be argued that trade efficiency and exports promotion are assumptions that need a broader reconsideration through a geo-economics approach. What defines Japan’s pursuit of several bilateral trade agreements is assuring its relative economic hegemony whilst changes in the world balance of power are taking place. As Japan faces an uncertain and unforeseeable future, it needs to strengthen its trade policy to guarantee access to international markets. Japan’s trade policy goes beyond the efficiency scope and it entails a geo-economics elucidation.