Japan's Economic Power and Security: Japan and North Korea (Sheffield Centre for Japanese Studies/Routledge Series)

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Is Japan re-emerging as a normal, or even a great, military power in regional and global security affairs? This Adelphi Paper assesses the overall trajectory of Japan’s security policy over the last decade, and the impact of a changing Japanese military posture on the stability of East Asia.

The paper examines Japan� s evolving security debate, set against the background of a shifting international environment and domestic policymaking system; the status of Japan� s national military capabilities and constitutional prohibitions; post-Cold War developments in the US Japan alliance; and Japan s role in multilateral regional security dialogue, UN PKO, and US-led coalitions of the willing. It concludes that Japan is undoubtedly moving along the trajectory of becoming a more assertive military power, and that this trend has been accelerated post-9/11. Japan is unlikely, though, to channel its military power through greatly different frameworks than at present. Japan will opt for the enhanced, and probably inextricable, integration of its military capabilities into the US Japan alliance, rather than pursuing options for greater autonomy or multilateralism. Japan’s strengthened role as the defensive shield for the offensive sword of US power projection will only serve to bolster US military hegemony in East Asia and globally.

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Japan's Economic Power and Security: Japan and North Korea (Sheffield Centre for Japanese Studies/Routledge Series) Review

This book deserves attention for various reasons. First, it is a rare European contribution to the study of Japanese foreign and security policies. Second, it gives a truly well informed overview of contemporary Japanese foreign policy, especially towards North Korea. Third, it makes an original and thought-provoking attempt to distance itself from the largely intuitive way of dealing with Japanese politics that still dominates the discourse. Or rather, this is politico-scientific analysis, whereas the study of Japanese foreign policy usually has been the realm of the often significantly less theoretically informed `Japanese studies.' Hughes in fact makes such central political concepts as `power' and `security' his foremost tools of analysis. I have expressed some objections against his definitions and applications of the concept of power elsewhere, but since I believe that we need more - not less - power analyses of Japanese foreign policy, on the whole, I am very sympathetic with his overall approach. Fourth, and most importantly, the book poses very relevant questions about Japanese power. Realists and liberals have for many years disputed what Japan's future role in the international system would be. Liberals like e.g. Richard Rosecrace have then considered Japanese pacifism as the natural consequence of human rationalism, whereas realists like Kenneth Waltz have asserted that Japan's economic power will undoubtedly be translated into proportional political military power. Hughes presents very careful and knowledgeable analyses of his empirical material that are no doubt relevant in the context of this dispute:First he finds that after WWII ideas about an economic security policy have been totally dominant in Japan, but interestingly also that in the wake of the Cold War more `traditional' ideas about a necessary military basis for security policy, have become increasingly influential in Japan. Paradoxically, this tendency seems to be going in the opposite direction in most other parts of the world. He then shows that policymakers in the Asia-Pacific region seem to acknowledge that the North Korean military security problems largely have economic causes and that they should be solved with economic means, i.e. a `soft landing'. Hughes draws the conclusion that Japan would have sufficient economic capacity in absolute terms as well as in the relations to North Korea to influence the country to do a soft landing, but also that "Japan's economic power capacity for security purposes remains latent and under-utilised" in this respect. He goes on to ask why Japan has failed to mobilize its economic resources. Looking at different groups of policymakers, in short he draws the conclusion that there have been too many risks and too few chances associated with a positive engagement for North Korea in Japan. Instead, and this is one of the most conspicuous conclusions of his book, Hughes finds that unlike the general trend in the international society, Japan has chosen to emphasize military aspects in its security policy towards North Korea. He also argues persuasively that it has used mainly military policy instruments vis- -vis the country. This very central conclusion that Hughes draws from his analysis therefore makes him take side in the dispute between liberals and realists about Japanese power referred to above: "North Korean security problem is actually more likely to serve as the occasion for Japan's emergence as a global military power, rather than a civilian power." This conclusion is rather provoking for most of us, and it should be even more so in most circles in Japan. However, unlike a majority of those who speak about the re-emergence of Japanese military power, Hughes is neither part of the PRC propaganda machinery, nor does he seem to have any theoretical bias for this conclusion. This book is, in other words, evidence enough that careful empirical analysis, departing from interesting questions, is actually enough to let social scientists draw controversial and important conclusions about the world. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | PermalinkComment Comment

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