Evolution of Japan's "misplacement": from Meiji Restoration to the post-Cold War

This article argues that since the Meiji Restoration, the degree of Japan's misplacement has changed, depending on its structural power to shape the concept of the region, "Asia". The degree of a "misplaced state" is thus not static, but elastic, and such a status is not a permanent attribute of the state. In fact, from the Meiji Restoration to the present, Japan experienced a number of national and international turning points. These historical traits can be categorized into three periods: from the Meiji Restoration to the Pacific War, post-World War II to the end of the Cold War, and post-Cold War to the present. In each period, Japan faced a different concept of "Asia" and attempted to modify its identity and roles, and experienced hard misplacement in the pre-World War II period as well as soft misplacement in the Cold War period, before it experienced relative well-placement in the post-Cold War period to previous two periods.