How do Japan and Germany respond to the regional politics in which they find themselves enmeshed? Furthermore, what are the effects of the different forms of regional integration in Asia and Europe for Japan and Germany? And to which extent do Japan and Germany themselves define the character of regional integration? I plan to investigate three issue areas dealing with economic, security and cultural affairs. To help us recognize the unfamiliar in familiar settings I plan to investigate issues that make for atypical (European) practices and institutions in Asia and correspondingly atypical (Asian) practices and institutions in Europe.