[Event] Roundtable Discussion: What prompted Japan to take more proactive security policies? The Role of Domestic Institutions

(Sign up before: 17:00 pm, February 19, 2024)

Speaker: 

• Dr. Satoshi Machidori (The School of Government and the Faculty of Law, Kyoto University)
• Dr. Harukata Takenaka (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies)
• Dr. Yves Tiberghien (Department of Political Science, University of British Columbia, Visiting Professor of Taipei School of Economics and Political Science, National Tsing Hua University) 

Abstract:

For many decades following the Second World War, Japan maintained a notably passive posture in the field of security. It focused on deploying military forces, namely, Japan Self Defense Force, solely for the defense of its own borders without considering dispatching SDF overseas.

Japan’s posture gradually changed following the conclusion of the Cold War, however, marked by the increasing involvement of the SDF in international activities. After the Gulf War, Japan began contributing to the SDF to participate in UN Peacekeeping Operations. In the War on Terror, the SDF offered rear support activities for the multinational forces. Then, in 2015 it legislated security legislation which paved the way to exercise the right of collective defense. In 2022, Japan adopted the new security strategy and unveiled the plan to deploy long range cruise missiles to bolster its counterattack capabilities.

Many scholars attribute this shift to changing international environment in East Asia it is important to underscore significant role played by domestic political institutions. While acknowledging the influence of external factors, the panel highlights how Japanese domestic factors contributed to changing Japanese security policy from various aspects. By examining changes in the Japanese political structure since 1990s, the panel sheds light on the relationship between domestic political institutions and evolution of Japanese security policy.