ABSTRACT
Japan joined the UN in 1956. Since then it has adopted a ‘UN-centred policy’ as a main pillar of its foreign policy. As far as Japan’s recent contribution to UN operations is concerned, Japan has sent 442 peacekeepers in the form of UN troops, to the Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights and the UN Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET). At the end of October 2003 this figure ranked Japan at 26th among contributing UN member states.1 However, Japan’s policy towards UN operations has been complicated by several domestic factors, such as its Constitution and the right of collective defence. Meanwhile, various changes in the international political climate and the increasing demand for conflict resolution have compelled Japan to seek a new approach to participation in UN peacekeeping. This essay explains that the Gulf War in 1991 and the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States were catalysts in the evolution of Japan’s policy towards peacekeeping, and identifies several operational problems caused by the state’s restraining domestic laws. Finally, the essay clarifies the national interests of Japan in relation to UN peacekeeping and proposes options for the state’s future peacekeeping policy.
