Structural change in the international order will have the greatest effect in East Asia with the ascendancy of China as a world economic power. A two-pillar post- Cold War policy of “shaping” China into a model country while “hedging” against its potential as a strategic rival has had to give way under the reality that China is not only an actor “to be shaped” but also an actor “to shape” the region. A new China strategy of “integration, balancing, and deterrence” has been brought forward in the Japanese security policy community. The implications of this shift and of the aftermath of the Great East Japan earthquake for Japan and the region are outlined in this policy brief.