Saori Shibata is a lecturer of East Asian Studies at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on Japan’s political economy, including the changing nature of work, the digital economy and how Japan’s model of capitalism is transforming. This draws on institutionalist approaches to capitalism and critical political economy. She has published in Review of International Political Economy, New Political Economy, British Journal of Political Science and Cornell University Press.

The "polycrisis" of global capitalism has specific regional manifestations in East Asia. Rising tensions there mirror global trends but are rooted in regional factors. We argue that the neoliberalization of Japan's national model has led to increased regional integration, but also to problems like heightened rivalries, competition, vulnerability, and declining popular support. We consider this hindering smoother accumulation processes in East Asia and increasing the complexities of the Japanese state's growing assertiveness.