While bilateralism has developed as a key framework for the Asia-Pacific regional cooperation in security, trade and finance, multilateral forums and diplomacy in this bilateralism-centered structure of Asian regional cooperation have gained more significance in recent years. Japan has emerged as one of the key countries in promoting Asian multilateralism through its engagement in, for instance, TPP, RCEP, EAS and CMIM. This seminar aims to explore Japan’s shift to Asian multilateralism in its regional diplomacy, and illustrate that it can be seen as a response to the structural change in the region, particularly the rivalry between the U.S and China. The speaker highlights that Japan may play important roles in the equilibrium between the two largest economies, and this holds true especially for trade multilateralism or regional integration. || Takashi Terada is Professor of International Relations at Organization for Asian Studies, Waseda University. || This event is jointly sponsored by the BU East Asian Studies Program and the Center for the Study of Asia at Boston University.