In this episode Paul Midford joins Henrik Hiim for a conversation about his new book "Overcoming Isolationism: Japan's Leadership in East Asian Security Multilateralism." Based on thousands of pages of declassified documents from Japan's Foreign Ministry and Cabinet Office, and on a quarter of a century of interviews, this book introduces Japan's often overlooked leadership in promoting East Asian Security Multilateralism, starting with its role in helping to establish the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in 1993, and its consistent leadership ever since. This book challenges stereotypes of Japan as passive and reactive in regional security. 
You can read more about Overcoming Isolationism here.