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Japan's Civil-Military Diplomacy: The Banks of the Rubicon (Politics in Asia)
by Dennis T. YasutomoSince the early 1990s, there has been a clear evolution in the military dimension of Japanese diplomacy. From Gulf War I in 1991 to the present day, an incremental but unmistakable acceptance of, and resort to, military dispatches has taken place, and yet crucially, Japan has not morphed into a traditional military power. Exploring Japan’s involvement in both Afghanistan and Iraq, this book examines the evolution and nature of the new civil-military dimension in Japanese foreign policy. It shows how foreign aid, Japan’s traditional non-military diplomatic tool, was merged with the operations of the Japanese Self-Defense Force in Iraq and the activities of NATO-ISAF forces in Afghanistan, and emphasises the centrality of civilian power to Japanese foreign policy and diplomacy. However, Dennis Yasutomo argues that while a new civil-military security culture is replacing the old merchant state culture of pacifism and anti-militarism, Japan does not yet qualify as a military "normal nation". Further, the book’s exploration of the increased utilization of military power within the context of civilian objectives and non-military diplomatic instruments, sheds light on the current build-up of Japanese military power in East and Southeast Asia amid territorial disputes and nuclear threats, and highlights the impact that Japan’s new civil-military diplomacy may have on wider international affairs in the 21st Century. Drawing on interviews with key actors in Tokyo, as well as with practitioners who have served on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, this book will have broad appeal to students and scholars working on Japanese politics and diplomacy, military and security studies and international relations.
Japan’s Defense Engagement in the Indo-Pacific: Deterrence, Strategic Partnership, and Stable Order Building (United Nations University Series on Regionalism #28)
by Nanae BaldauffThis original book systematically examines Japan’s defense engagement with its strategic partners since the end of the Cold War based on Japan’s national security strategy. The author maps three defense engagement activities: military exercises, capacity building, and defense equipment transfer and technology cooperation – and subsequently evaluates these against the three national security objectives: deterrence, cooperative security, and the Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision. The book asks two important research questions: why is Japan active in defense engagement with the armed forces of its strategic partners? And, what purposes do Japan’s self-defense forces pursue? Through the ten carefully selected cases of strategic partners: Australia, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, ASEAN, the UK, France, NATO, and the EU, the book follows a structured, cross-case comparison based on the analytical framework developed for the research. It also discusses the evolution of Japan’s postwar defense policy, providing a solid background for the case studies. The book overall argues that, while the Japan-US alliance is still the most indispensable, Japan’s strategic partnerships are a valuable instrument of deterrence that contributes to Japan’s national security objectives. In order to more effectively pursue these objectives and thus secure the national interest, Japan must pursue a purpose-driven defense engagement.
Japan’s Development Assistance: Foreign Aid and the Post-2015 Agenda
by John Page Hiroshi Kato Yasutami ShimomuraOnce the world's largest ODA provider, contemporary Japan seems much less visible in international development. However, this book demonstrates that Japan, with its own aid philosophy, experiences, and models of aid, has ample lessons to offer to the international community as the latter seeks new paradigms of development cooperation.
Japan’s Disaster Governance: How was the 3.11 Crisis Managed? (Public Administration, Governance and Globalization)
by Itoko Suzuki Yuko KanekoNatural disasters are often multifaceted and cause severe damage. Disasters initiated locally can become national and even global crises. Today’s world urgently needs a new body of knowledge and techniques for the mitigation of and response to disaster. Central to such a body of knowledge are disaster preparedness, emergency and crisis management systems of government, of which capacity building is becoming an increasingly important element in public administration, management and governance. Today, disasters are to be managed by sound local, national, and global governance, through all the phases of preparedness, prevention, mitigation and then to relief, recovery and re-construction. During all these phases, government plays the most important role.This book provides a case of the disaster governance of Japan, by presenting information and analyses on what happened in the Magnitude 9 Great East Japan Earthquake that caused the huge tsunami and the INES Level 7 Fukushima nuclear power plants accidents on March 11, 2011. In examining this Japanese case study, this book illustrates the socio-economic damage of the stricken areas together with the overall picture of the disasters. It examines Japan’s capacity for disaster governance and it’s crisis management system in response to the most devastating disaster that the country has ever encountered since the end of WWII. It also offers preliminary findings learned from this experience in the Japan’s public administration and governance systems, challenged to be more accountable and transparent during the recovery and reconstruction efforts now in progress.
Japan’s Effectiveness as a Geo-Economic Actor: Navigating Great-Power Competition (Adelphi series)
by Yuka Koshino Robert WardGeo-economic strategy – deploying economic instruments to secure foreign-policy aims and to project power – has long been a key element of statecraft. In recent years, it has acquired even greater salience given China’s growing antagonism with the United States and the willingness of both Beijing and Washington to wield economic power in their confrontation. This trend has particular significance for Japan given its often tense political relationship with China, which remains its largest trading partner. While Japan’s post-war geo-economic performance often failed to match its status as one of the world’s largest economies, more recently Tokyo has demonstrated increased geo-economic agency and effectiveness. In this Adelphi book, Yuka Koshino and Robert Ward draw on multiple disciplines – including economics, political economy, foreign policy and security policy – and interviews with key policymakers to examine Japan’s geo-economic power in the context of great-power competition between the US and China. They examine Japan’s previous underperformance, how Tokyo’s understanding of geo-economics has evolved and, given constraints on its national power-projection, what actions Japan might feasibly take to become a more effective geo-economic actor. Their conclusions will be of direct interest not only for all those concerned with Japanese grand strategy and the Asia-Pacific, but also for those middle powers seeking to navigate great-power competition in the coming decades.
Japan’s Effectiveness as a Geo-Economic Actor: Navigating Great-Power Competition (Adelphi series)
by Yuka Koshino Robert WardGeo-economic strategy – deploying economic instruments to secure foreign-policy aims and to project power – has long been a key element of statecraft. In recent years, it has acquired even greater salience given China’s growing antagonism with the United States and the willingness of both Beijing and Washington to wield economic power in their confrontation. This trend has particular significance for Japan given its often tense political relationship with China, which remains its largest trading partner. While Japan’s post-war geo-economic performance often failed to match its status as one of the world’s largest economies, more recently Tokyo has demonstrated increased geo-economic agency and effectiveness. In this Adelphi book, Yuka Koshino and Robert Ward draw on multiple disciplines – including economics, political economy, foreign policy and security policy – and interviews with key policymakers to examine Japan’s geo-economic power in the context of great-power competition between the US and China. They examine Japan’s previous underperformance, how Tokyo’s understanding of geo-economics has evolved and, given constraints on its national power-projection, what actions Japan might feasibly take to become a more effective geo-economic actor. Their conclusions will be of direct interest not only for all those concerned with Japanese grand strategy and the Asia-Pacific, but also for those middle powers seeking to navigate great-power competition in the coming decades.
Japan's Environmental Politics and Governance: From Trading Nation to EcoNation (Routledge Studies in Asia and the Environment)
by Yasuo TakaoEnvironmental issues stretch across scales of geographic space and require action at multiple levels of jurisdiction, including the individual level, community level, national level, and global level. Much of the scholarly work surrounding new approaches to environmental governance tends to overlook the role of sub-national governments, but this study examines the potential of sub-national participation to make policy choices which are congruent with global strategies and national mandates. This book investigates the emerging actors and new channels of Japan’s environmental governance which has been taking shape within an increasingly globalized international system. By analysing this important new phenomenon, it sheds light on the changing nature of Japan’s environmental policy and politics, and shows how the links between global strategies, national mandates and local action serve as an influential factor in Japan’s changing structures of environmental governance. Further, it demonstrates that decision-making competencies are shared between actors operating at different levels and in new spheres of authority, resulting from collaboration between state and non-state actors. It highlights a number of the problems, challenges, and critiques of the actors in environmental governance, as well as raising new empirical and theoretical puzzles for the future study of governance over environmental and global issues. Finally, it concludes that changes in the tiers and new spheres of authority are leading the nation towards an environmentally stable future positioned within socio-economic and political constraints. Demonstrating that bridging policy gaps between local action, national policy and global strategies is potentially a way of reinventing environmental policy, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Environmental Studies, Environmental Politics and Japanese Politics.
Japan's Environmental Politics and Governance: From Trading Nation to EcoNation (Routledge Studies in Asia and the Environment)
by Yasuo TakaoEnvironmental issues stretch across scales of geographic space and require action at multiple levels of jurisdiction, including the individual level, community level, national level, and global level. Much of the scholarly work surrounding new approaches to environmental governance tends to overlook the role of sub-national governments, but this study examines the potential of sub-national participation to make policy choices which are congruent with global strategies and national mandates. This book investigates the emerging actors and new channels of Japan’s environmental governance which has been taking shape within an increasingly globalized international system. By analysing this important new phenomenon, it sheds light on the changing nature of Japan’s environmental policy and politics, and shows how the links between global strategies, national mandates and local action serve as an influential factor in Japan’s changing structures of environmental governance. Further, it demonstrates that decision-making competencies are shared between actors operating at different levels and in new spheres of authority, resulting from collaboration between state and non-state actors. It highlights a number of the problems, challenges, and critiques of the actors in environmental governance, as well as raising new empirical and theoretical puzzles for the future study of governance over environmental and global issues. Finally, it concludes that changes in the tiers and new spheres of authority are leading the nation towards an environmentally stable future positioned within socio-economic and political constraints. Demonstrating that bridging policy gaps between local action, national policy and global strategies is potentially a way of reinventing environmental policy, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Environmental Studies, Environmental Politics and Japanese Politics.
Japan’s Evolving Foreign Policy Doctrine: From Yoshida to Miyazawa
by Bert EdströmDuring half a century after the war Japan's economy was built up from scratch to the world's number two, while its foreign policy has been described by many as passive and even verging on being non-existent. As a contrast, this study evinces how the foundations of Japan's foreign policy were laid in the early postwar period, and how postwar policies have been characterized by pervasive continuity, guided by distinct national goals and expressed in clear-cut national role conceptions.
Japan's Financial Crisis: Institutional Rigidity and Reluctant Change
by Jennifer AmyxAt the beginning of the 1990s, a massive speculative asset bubble burst in Japan, leaving the nation's banks with an enormous burden of nonperforming loans. Banking crises have become increasingly common across the globe, but what was distinctive about the Japanese case was the unusually long delay before the government intervened to aggressively address the bad debt problem. The postponed response by Japanese authorities to the nation's banking crisis has had enormous political and economic consequences for Japan as well as for the rest of the world. This book helps us understand the nature of the Japanese government's response while also providing important insights into why Japan seems unable to get its financial system back on track 13 years later. The book focuses on the role of policy networks in Japanese finance, showing with nuance and detail how Japan's Finance Ministry was embedded within the political and financial worlds, how that structure was similar to and different from that of its counterparts in other countries, and how the distinctive nature of Japan's institutional arrangements affected the capacity of the government to manage change. The book focuses in particular on two intervening variables that bring about a functional shift in the Finance Ministry's policy networks: domestic political change under coalition government and a dramatic rise in information requirements for effective regulation. As a result of change in these variables, networks that once enhanced policymaking capacity in Japanese finance became "paralyzing networks"--with disastrous results.
Japan's First Modern War: Army and Society in the Conflict with China, 1894-5 (Studies in Military and Strategic History)
by S. LoneThis is the first ever English-language study of the war which established Japan's image as a warrior nation, an image which in many ways persists today. Using extensive Japanese materials, including the letters of frontline troops and provincial newspapers, it presents the diverse experience both of soldiers and civilians and reveals how war accelerated the modernization of Japanese society. Included are such topics as the soldiers' impressions of duty, nation, and their 'fellow' Asians; the role of the emperor as commander-in-chief; the use of the war in schools; as well as the activities of small business, institutional religion, and patriotic societies.
Japan’s Foreign Aid Policy in Africa: Evaluating the TICAD Process
by Pedro Amakasu RaposoJapan's Foreign Aid Policy in Africa seeks to evaluate TICAD's intellectual contribution to and its development practices regarding Africa over the past 20 years. A central conclusion is that, while TICAD bureaucrats lacked agency to support Japanese companies in Africa, the model of emerging powers partnerships has expanded in Africa.
Japan’s Foreign and Security Policy Under the ‘Abe Doctrine’: New Dynamism or New Dead End?
by C. HughesJapan is shifting onto a new trajectory for a more muscular national security policy, US-Japan alliance ties functioning for regional and global security, and the encirclement of China's influence in East Asia. The author explores how PM Abe Shinz?'s doctrine may prove contradictory and counter-productive to Japanese national interests.
Japan's Foreign Policy in an Era of Global Change (Bloomsbury Academic Collections: Japan)
by Takashi InoguchiThe evolution of Japan's foreign policy at the time of great transformation-cum-transition after World War II is analysed and considered from two angles: a Japan adrift, with an opportunistic, short-term pragmatism, and a Japan determinedly and tenaciously steadfast to its national interests. Inoguchi provides fascinating and balanced accounts of Japan's foreign policy at a time when its premises are seemingly undermined and its domestic and international underpinnings eroding.First published in 1993, this title is part of the Bloomsbury Academic Collections series.
Japan's Foreign Policy in the 1990s: From Economic Superpower to What Power? (St Antony's Series)
by R. DrifteThis book looks at Japan's foreign policy at the regional and global level from a power perspective. It argues that Japan is no longer an economic superpower while satisfying itself with the posture of a political pygmy. Instead Japan is increasingly translating its economic power into influence over the perceptions, intentions, options and material circumstances of other people. This new power posture has been referred to as 'civilian power' but is no less effective for national interest than military power was in the past. The present economic difficulties and the political upheaval have not significantly dented Japan's power.
Japan’s Foreign Policy Making: Central Government Reforms, Decision-Making Processes, and Diplomacy
by Karol Zakowski Beata Bochorodycz Marcin SochaThis book evaluates the impact of the 2001 central government reforms on effective foreign policy making in Japan. It puts a special focus on the evolution of the domestic institutional factors and decision-making processes behind Japan’s foreign policy, while also analyzing the development of Japan’s external relations with various other countries, such as the US, China and North Korea. Adhering to the neoclassical realist approach, the authors show that, thanks to a more independent Kantei-based form of diplomacy, Japan’s prime ministers were able to strategically respond to international developments, and to pursue their own diplomatic endeavors more boldly. At the same time, they demonstrate that the effectiveness of this proactive posture was still heavily dependent on the decision-makers’ ability to form cohesive coalitions and select suitable institutional tools, which enabled them to influence domestic and international affairs.
Japan's Foreign Relations in Asia
by James D.J. Brown Jeff KingstonJapan's Foreign Relations in Asia has been specifically designed to introduce students to Japan’s foreign relations in Asia since 1990, a period in which there have been dramatic developments in Japan, including the reinterpretation of the Constitution and expanded US–Japan defence cooperation. The geopolitical dynamics and implications of these new developments are profound and underscore the need for a new textbook on this subject. Covering not only the key regional players of China and the Koreas, this textbook also encompasses chapters on Japan’s relations with India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand, along with its multilateral engagement and initiatives. Combined with transnational chapters on critical issues, key themes covered by this book include: An historical overview of key post-war developments. Japan’s evolving security policy. Analysis of the region’s escalating maritime disputes. An evaluation of Japanese soft power in Asia. Written by leading experts in accessible, jargon-free style, this new textbook will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students of Japanese politics, international relations and foreign policy and Asian affairs in general.
Japan's Foreign Relations in Asia
by James D.J. Brown Jeff KingstonJapan's Foreign Relations in Asia has been specifically designed to introduce students to Japan’s foreign relations in Asia since 1990, a period in which there have been dramatic developments in Japan, including the reinterpretation of the Constitution and expanded US–Japan defence cooperation. The geopolitical dynamics and implications of these new developments are profound and underscore the need for a new textbook on this subject. Covering not only the key regional players of China and the Koreas, this textbook also encompasses chapters on Japan’s relations with India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand, along with its multilateral engagement and initiatives. Combined with transnational chapters on critical issues, key themes covered by this book include: An historical overview of key post-war developments. Japan’s evolving security policy. Analysis of the region’s escalating maritime disputes. An evaluation of Japanese soft power in Asia. Written by leading experts in accessible, jargon-free style, this new textbook will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students of Japanese politics, international relations and foreign policy and Asian affairs in general.
Japan's Future and a New Meiji Transformation: International Reflections (Asia's Transformations)
by Ken Coates Kimie Hara Carin Holroyd Marie SöderbergBringing together the work of sixteen international Japan specialists and scholars, this book analyzes Japan’s culture and history to reflect on the critical policy decisions and national commitments required for the country to continue to succeed. Comparing the current situation with the uncertainties of the late nineteenth century, this book investigates the possibility and desirability of a "New Meiji Transformation" in Japan. Set in the context of perceived demographic, ecological, fiscal and political decline in Japan, it explores what a New Meiji initiative would look like in the twenty-first century and whether a new era of renewal is needed to maintain and improve quality of life. An interdisciplinary volume, this book covers contemporary issues in Japanese foreign, defense and nuclear strategies, as well as its aging population, higher education structure and environmental policies. As such Japan’s Future and a New Meiji Transformation will be of great interest to students and scholars of Japanese politics, economics and history, as well as Asian Studies more generally.
Japan's Future and a New Meiji Transformation: International Reflections (Asia's Transformations)
by Ken Coates Kimie Hara Carin Holroyd Marie SoderbergBringing together the work of sixteen international Japan specialists and scholars, this book analyzes Japan’s culture and history to reflect on the critical policy decisions and national commitments required for the country to continue to succeed. Comparing the current situation with the uncertainties of the late nineteenth century, this book investigates the possibility and desirability of a "New Meiji Transformation" in Japan. Set in the context of perceived demographic, ecological, fiscal and political decline in Japan, it explores what a New Meiji initiative would look like in the twenty-first century and whether a new era of renewal is needed to maintain and improve quality of life. An interdisciplinary volume, this book covers contemporary issues in Japanese foreign, defense and nuclear strategies, as well as its aging population, higher education structure and environmental policies. As such Japan’s Future and a New Meiji Transformation will be of great interest to students and scholars of Japanese politics, economics and history, as well as Asian Studies more generally.
Japan's Growing Predominance Over East Asia and the World Economy
by William R. NesterIn 40 years Japan has developed from a war-devastated and poverty stricken country into the second largest economy in the world. This book analyzes how Japan attained its current financial and technological status and argues that Japan's supremacy over world economies will expand further.
Japan's Historical Disputes with Neighboring States: Russian Perspectives (ISSN)
by Dmitry StreltsovThis book examines Japan’s relationships with China, Russia, the states of the Korean Peninsula, and Taiwan. Analyzing key points of conflict, their roots, and current relations, it highlights their significance for each country. Avoiding a focus on sensitive issues of the historical past per se, it provides a Russian perspective on their impact in Japan and neighboring states, their place in the domestic political discourse, the image of modern Japan in the eyes of political elites and the public and assesses the prospects for improving unfavorable mutual perceptions.Problems of the historical past remain a significant factor in the deterioration of Japan’s relations with China, South Korea, and Russia. Notions of national prestige and historical disputes appear with increasing frequency on the international political agenda in East Asia, driven largely by the economic and military rise of China and the changing military-political balance of power in the region.The book will be of interest to scholars and students of area studies and international relations, especially those specializing in East Asian Studies, Japanese studies, the politics of memory in IR, and problems of national identity.
Japan's Historical Disputes with Neighboring States: Russian Perspectives (ISSN)
This book examines Japan’s relationships with China, Russia, the states of the Korean Peninsula, and Taiwan. Analyzing key points of conflict, their roots, and current relations, it highlights their significance for each country. Avoiding a focus on sensitive issues of the historical past per se, it provides a Russian perspective on their impact in Japan and neighboring states, their place in the domestic political discourse, the image of modern Japan in the eyes of political elites and the public and assesses the prospects for improving unfavorable mutual perceptions.Problems of the historical past remain a significant factor in the deterioration of Japan’s relations with China, South Korea, and Russia. Notions of national prestige and historical disputes appear with increasing frequency on the international political agenda in East Asia, driven largely by the economic and military rise of China and the changing military-political balance of power in the region.The book will be of interest to scholars and students of area studies and international relations, especially those specializing in East Asian Studies, Japanese studies, the politics of memory in IR, and problems of national identity.
Japan’s International Cooperation in Education: History and Prospects (Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects #63)
by Nobuko Kayashima Kazuo Kuroda Yuto KitamuraThis book records the history of Japan’s international cooperation in education from the 1950s to 2020. It provides a crucial overview of the nearly 70 years since Japan began engaging in international cooperation in education in order to record and document these efforts that range from basic to higher education to technical and vocational education and training, and the large numbers of people involved in their respective areas of activity and specialization. The book provides useful indicators for exploring new forms of education cooperation in this age of global governance and beyond. The authors include not only researchers but also field practitioners, such as personnel from the Japan International Cooperation Agency and NGOs.Chapters 1, 3, 5, 9, 12 and 15 are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.