ABSTRACT
Japan took no direct or multilateral role in East Asian security during the Cold War. Rather, its contribution to regional security was channelled via the indirect and bilateral mechanism of the US-Japan security treaty, and its contribution to global security via exclusively diplomatic and financial support for UN activities. In the immediate post-Cold War period, Japan remained averse to participation in regional multilateral security frameworks, for fear that they would conflict with and undermine the bilateral alliance frameworks that had seemingly been so successful in maintaining stability in the past. For instance, Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu, echoing US policymakers, stated in July 1990 that it was ‘too early’ for any type of multilateral security arrangement in the region.
