ABSTRACT
MOFA’s 1999 Diplomatic Bluebook examined the course of Japanese foreign policy during 1998. Two distinct trends were clear: the pursuit of security interests with bilateral counterparts (such as the US, Russia, China and South Korea) which gave particular prominence to military matters; and the promotion of an alternative security paradigm as a ‘demonstration of comprehensive and proactive leadership’ (MOFA 1999b). Chapters 6 and 11 have shown how relations with the US and East Asia continue to be dominated by traditional security concerns. Security relations with Europe and within the United Nations (see Chapter 19), however, demonstrate a new kind of behaviour by Japan: the articulation of quiet diplomacy. It is a form of diplomacy which emphasizes issues such as support for nuclear non-proliferation and peacekeeping activities across the world, and is embodied in Prime Minister Obuchi Keizō's pledge at the end of 1998 to advocate ‘human security’ in pursuit of peace and stability (see Chapter 11). Two points are important to note in the context of Japan-Europe relations: quiet diplomacy has provided the mainstay of their bilateral relations throughout the post-war period; and, as this type of security dialogue becomes more prominent, Japan and the EU have a clear alternative path of bilateral diplomacy to follow. Such a path eschews notions of military security in favour of a broader concept of human and civil security. This dialogue has been adopted frequently in bilateral and multilateral engagements between Japan and its European counterparts.
