ABSTRACT
This article will indicate how Japan is adapting to its changing security environment. Although discussions of post-Cold War security have legitimately broadened to include such non-military threats as population growth, ecological disaster and global economic imbalances, this discussion will be more narrowly focused on contingencies where Japan’s interests might be targeted or collaterally affected by threats of the use of force within East Asia. The critical question in Japanese security policy today is whether or not Japan will assume expanded military roles; and East Asia is where Japan’s interests are vital enough to force change in this direction. While it is fairly clear that the Japanese government wishes to be more active in protecting its security interests, contemporary domestic and international factors inhibit Japan from taking an active military role. As a result, Japanese security policy is characterized by increasing non-military contributions to international security, the introduction of Japan’s Self-Defence Forces (SDF) into UN-sponsored collective security activities, and a prudent emphasis on widening the scope of longer term military security options for Japan.
