SINGAPORE -- As Japan becomes mired in its own political, economic and financial problems and grapples with serious geostrategic concerns on the Korean Peninsula, there is great temptation for it to look inward. Such a shift, however, is to the detriment of the region, which is experiencing one of its greatest periods of transformation.
To its Asian neighbors, Tokyo seems consumed by its own political and economic uncertainties. The net result is a slowing down of Japanese foreign policy initiatives -- and visits by Japanese political and business leaders -- and a weakening of Japanese trade and investment in Southeast and Northeast Asia.
It has become customary for some observers to speak of Japan as "the sick man of Asia," although its foreign reserves stand at $430 billion and its foreign direct investment flows to the East Asian region remain formidable.