Immovable object? Japan’s security policy in East Asia

The external and internal security environments confronting Japan are changing. Japan faces new challenges such as missile defense, the spread of weapons of mass destruction, relations with North Korea, and, significantly, the deployment of the Self Defense Forces (SDF) in Iraq, and the broader war on terrorism. Internally, Japan faces an array of challenges to stability and order including illegal immigration and illicit drug trafficking, both of which are becoming more diverse and less amenable to control. Despite challenges to both security environments, Japan’s policies have not adjusted evenly. In the post-9/11 world, Japan’s external security policies-purportedly the sacrosanct hallmark of postwar Japanese pacifism-appear to have changed more than its internal policies.