Japan-funded energy infrastructures in Southeast Asia, 2000-2020 (2020-2022)

PrincipaI investigator
Dr. Laurence L. DELINA

Postgraduate student
Mr. Timothy Joseph HENARES (Summer 2021, Fall 2021-Spring 2022, transferred to another supervisor)

Student assistants
Ms. Chloe CHAN (Summer 2022)
Mr. Martin HUNG (Fall 2022)
Mr. Zakk RATTANAMANEEJARAT (Fall 2022)
Ms. Cherry WANG (Summer 2022)
Mr. Jason YEUNG (Summer 2022)
Ms. Phoebe YEUNG (Fall 2022)
Mr. Marcus YU (Fall 2022)
Ms. Ocean YUEN (Fall 2022)

In 2020, countries in the Southeast Asian region received a cumulative $367 billion in total investments from Japan. Compared to China’s $255 billion, Japan leads in terms of infrastructure support to the region. This volume, however, was reported in its aggregate, and little is known about their country and sectoral distribution. We also know little about the political economy of these investments. Chinese investments, by contrast, are being studied in more detail. Uncovering the scale, evolution, and political economy dynamics of Japanese investments can shed light on the international studies of bilateral and multilateral finance, thus assisting our understanding of international relations, geopolitics, and diplomacy. This new knowledge is also important in shaping policy and understanding how international funding is delivered in line with the contextualized customs, policies and governance of recipient nations.