Japan's Foreign Policy Priorities during Shinzo Abe's Premiership and the Eurasian Direction

The Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Eurasian diplomacy related to the “Arc of Freedom and Prosperity” and “Asia's Dream: Connecting the Pacific and Eurasia” initiatives is analyzed. Both concepts were based on expectations that the United States would continue its course of “promoting democracy” in Asia. However, these calculations proved to be incorrect. Despite the failure of the first initiative, Abe repeated a similar approach during his second term. The authors examine why Japan did not revise this ineffective strategy: was it constrained by American frameworks or attempting to overcome them through Abe's diplomacy? Were alternative approaches explored? The study identifies the reasons for this strategic persistence in Japan's political culture, where loyalty to the U.S. as a post-war ally remains an unconditional imperative. This leads to the so-called Madame Butterfly syndrome – recognizing the deadlock without revising the course. Abe's Eurasian policy was instrumental, aimed at containing China, which limited its effectiveness despite significant untapped cooperation potential.