Prof. Dr. Frank Rövekamp is professor for Asian Studies with a focus on Japan and director of the East Asia Institute of the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences. Formerly he worked for over 15 years in the industry and held senior management positions in Germany, Japan and Hong Kong. He obtained his PhD in Business Studies from the University of Cologne. His current research interests include international monetary, currency and trade policy. Dr. Hanns Günther Hilpert is Senior Associate in the Research Unit Asia at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (“Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik”, SWP), Berlin. Formerly he worked for the German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ), Tokyo and the Ifo Institute for Economic Research, Munich. He has written and published many books and articles on the Japanese economy and on Asian trade and economic integration. His current research focuses at various policy oriented economic issues of East Asia.