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This chapter analyses Japan’s initiatives promoting regional security multilateralism in East Asia since the end of the Cold War. It argues that Japan promoted multilateral security structures through initiatives such as the Nakayama proposal, the Hashimoto Doctrine, and its advocacy of Northeast Asian Cooperation (NEA 3), as well as initiatives in response to specific security challenges such as maritime piracy in East Asia. These initiatives are significant because Japan often acted independently of the US, and set up institutions that sometimes did not include US participation. For Japan, the core reasons for promoting security multilateralism were to reassure Japan’s neighbours that Tokyo would not become a threat to their security again, to hedge against potential US abandonment, and, ironically, to help keep the US engaged in the region.
This book provides the first comprehensive analysis of Japan’s new security
partnerships with Australia, India, countries and multilateral security
structure in East Asia, as well as with the EU and some of its member
states.
Most books on Japanese bilateral relations focus exclusively on the
Japanese perspective, the debate in Japan, positions of Japanese government
leaders and parties, or the public discourse. This edited volume is organized in
pairs of chapters, one each analysing the motivations and objectives of Japan,
and a second analysing those of each of the most important new security
partners.
After solely relying on the United States for its national
security needs during the Cold War, since the end of the Cold War, Japan has
begun to deepen its bilateral security ties. Since the mid-2000s under LDP and
DPJ administrations, bilateral security partnerships accelerated and today go
beyond non-traditional security issue are as and extend far into traditional
security and military affairs, including the exchange and joint acquisition of
military hardware, military exercises, and capacity building. It is argued, that
these developments will have implications for the security architecture in the
Asia-Pacific.
This book is a primer for those interested in Japan’s security
policy beyond the US-Japan security alliance, non-American centred bilateral and
multilateral security cooperation through the eyes of Japanese as well as
partner country perspectives. It is also an ideal as a course reading for
graduate courses on regional security cooperation and strategic partnerships,
and Japanese foreign and security policy.