ABSTRACT
In the wake of two nuclear and a series of missile tests by North Korea in 2016–2017, Japan’s government is facing a critical set of security challenges. These require adaptation and careful planning by the Abe administration and raise important questions about the future of Japanese defense policy, alliance relations with the United States, and cooperation between Japan and the Republic of Korea. The following chapter considers both the history and current state of relations between Tokyo, Washington and Seoul, the relationship between elite and public opinion within Japan and the character of Prime Minister Abe’s leadership at a time of acute strategic risk. While the danger of conflict in northeast Asia should not be minimized, the gravity of the current crisis potentially offers an important opportunity for policy innovation for the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
