ABSTRACT
What role does the United Nations play in Japan’s foreign policy and in its vision of global and regional security architecture? This chapter argues that although the US-Japan alliance has been the primary guarantor of Japan’s national security since the end of World War II, the United Nations has also played an important role as a source of legitimacy and influence. Given the troubled legacy of Japan’s war-time actions and its constitutional constraints on military activity, the UN has been the basis of both domestic and international legitimacy for Japan’s evolving security role over the postwar period. In addition, the UN has provided a way for Japan to shape its international environment through diplomacy, promotion of norms such as human security, and contributions to peacekeeping operations. Through the UN, the Japanese government has tried to reshape the very definition of security in ways that better fit what Japan is able to do within its political constraints. Overall, Japan has viewed the UN as one part of a multi-layered approach to security architecture, combining a broad focus on the global security role of the UN with a more specific emphasis on regional security mechanisms to address concerns in the Indo-Pacific.
