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This introduction to the articles that follow considers the impact of the apparent decline of the West and the likely impact of China's rise on the region in this period of surprising flux. We provide a brief analysis of the main issues that are affecting the Asia-Pacific's three most significant states - the United States, China and Japan. Key questions for all of them and for the rest of this collection are about the very nature and identity of the region itself, and its relationship to the global sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on peacekeeping activities of Japan. The author says that the country's responses to peacekeeping have been reactive and ad hoc, including from being moved by the U.S.-led international union in the aftermath of the 1991 to 1992 Gulf War to U.S. calls for support over Iraq in 2003. He argues that these actions raise debate on how Japan can respond to international crises.