ABSTRACT
This chapter examines Japan’s hard-line posture toward China in terms of its policy of domestic credibility and makes clear its limitations in achieving national security. National pride is a different value from security, but can influence national security policy and excludes a concern with stability that is a prerequisite for national security. Four characteristics of the 2010–2016 hard-line posture demonstrated this: nationalistic agenda-setting; the lack of nuanced diplomatic messages; the psychological power game; and the exclusion of the influence of economic interdependence. Japan’s hard-line posture over 2012–2016 was not a maneuver intended ultimately to seek stability with China. Instead, it was the inclusion of national pride in national security policy. A debate on national security was not sufficient in either. Shinzo Abe’s policy style added a negative influence to domestic credibility and the divide in domestic politics was sharpened through the emotion-versus-emotion debate.
