Abstract: This study examines the Look East Policy (LEP) using the framework of policy implementation. This article examines only Japan as a model for LEP policy implementation. This article argues that LEP is a political agenda that could only be realised with a strong central leadership due to factors including resource scarcity, colonial sentiment, pluralistic and traditional societal norms and political mileage of the ruling party. The top down theoretical framework provides understanding of why LEP was implemented in such a way. Intensive interviews were conducted to thirty respondents from various Malaysian organisations with similar criteria whose employees’ experiences included studying, living, working and collaborating with Japanese counterparts. Themes were developed based on sequential observations occurring in transcriptions of narrative interviews. This study shares respondents’ opinions and experiences and it reports them without editing. The findings show that the LEP top down policy approach contributes to policy advantages and disadvantages for Malaysia. Advantages are essential and authoritarian in nature, helping to enforce a better work culture and ethics in organisations, individual’s lives and a stronger industrialised state.