There is a growing awareness in the Nordic region of Asia’s increased interest in the Arctic region and Arctic affairs, including in relation to Greenland. However, with the possible exception of China, there has been little Western scholarly work to analyze exactly why Asian countries are interested in the Arctic. Looking at the Arctic engagement of Japan and Singapore, this paper finds that their interest in the Polar Regions is not necessarily a new phenomenon and that Arctic policy, as with the development of other foreign policy objectives, is a complex mix of national, bureaucratic and group interests. For Greenlandic and Danish policymakers, it may be useful to understand the genesis of Japan and Singapore’s Arctic policies and that their interest is complex and multi-faceted.