ABSTRACT
Japan's dual role as key source for trade, investment, and developmental aid, as well as key US military ally, has placed Japan at the intersection of Asia's security and economic regional orders. This chapter examines Japan's foreign and security policy as it has evolved in close interaction with its Asian neighbors and the broader international community. It describes the formulation and entrenchment of Japan's Cold War foreign policy consensus, which has combined a low-key military posture with a high-profile foreign economic and trade policy. The chapter outlines the process of post-Cold War realignment in Japan's foreign policy, which has resulted in the evolution of a "proactive pacifism", placing Japan on track to play an active military role in international security affairs. Finally, the chapter looks at some of the most recent challenges faced by Japan's foreign policy as tensions in the East and South China Seas prevail, and new uncertainties emerge over the future of the US-Japan alliance.
