BRUSSELS — After the Cold War, in which Europe and Japan played subordinate political — and military — roles to Washington, the European Union and Japan found themselves in the position of being "economic giants" but "political dwarves."
Both have been shortsighted in privileging EU-U.S. and U.S.-Japan relations over building an EU-Japan relationship. The almost exclusive focus on economic concerns and trade has hampered the ability of both to strike out and shape developments in their own "near abroad" to counter U.S. hegemony.
In Tokyo during the 1980s, ties between the EU and Japan were largely economic. They were restricted because national sentiment, and hence domestic politics, was based on concern about the possible effects of trade liberalization.