The dramatic shifts of recent years in the fortunes and policies of the nations involved in East Asian affairs are forcing Japan to undertake a basic reappraisal of its foreign policy for the first time since the end of the American occupation in 1952. This will be a difficult and painful process for the Japanese in view of their past unhappy experiences in Asian politics, domestic disagreements over the appropriate role for their, country and widespread uncertainty about the pattern of relationships that is evolving in the area.