Abe’s pro-active pacifism and values diplomacy

Japanese Prime Minister Abe promotes “Pro-active Pacifism” and “Values Diplomacy” in foreign policy, critiquing previous policy that he claims merely professed peace while doing little to promote it. Values Diplomacy asserts that Japan will promote the values of liberal democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Given the EU’s promotion of these values, these Abe administration policies apparently promise greater EU–Japan political and security cooperation. This chapter assesses whether the Abe administration’s implementation of these two new policies really portend greater cooperation, or whether they are merely tactical responses to China’s rise that offer little potential for expanding EU–Japan cooperation.