Japan's Search for Strategic Vision: The Contemporary Debate
Abstract
The author examines recent efforts by Japan's foreign policymakers and opinion leaders to forge a coherent approach to the outside world. The role of the Persian Gulf crisis in prompting a more thoughtful national reflection within Japan on its proper international role is discussed. The author comments on the recent emergence of a split within Tokyo's foreign policy elite between those who argue that Japan's future lies with Asia and those who stress the continued centrality of the bilateral link with the United States. He concludes by focusing on the security perceptions of Japanese officials and opinion leaders, paying particular attention to their insistence that any substantial reduction of current levels of forward-deployed U.S. forces in Japan would undermine the integrity of the 1960 bilateral security treaty. This in turn, they fear, would precipitate an outbreak of arms races, crises, and eventual conflicts in the Asia-Pacific region. Economic superpower, Cold War, Junior partner, Post-Cold War world, Bilateral link, Asia-Pacific region, Japan.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 25, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA262610
Entities
People
- Eugene Brown
Organizations
- United States Army War College