Japan's Security Renaissance

New Policies and Politics for the Twenty-First Century

Andrew Oros

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9780231542593
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Japanese History
• Index: History

For decades after World War II, Japan chose to focus on soft power and economic diplomacy alongside a close alliance with the United States, eschewing a potential leadership role in regional and global security. Since the end of the Cold War, and especially since the rise of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan's military capabilities have resurged. In this analysis of Japan's changing military policy, Andrew L. Oros shows how a gradual awakening to new security challenges has culminated in the multifaceted "security renaissance" of the past decade.

Despite openness to new approaches, however, three historical legacies—contested memories of the Pacific War and Imperial Japan, postwar anti-militarist convictions, and an unequal relationship with the United States—play an outsized role. In Japan's Security Renaissance Oros argues that Japan's future security policies will continue to be shaped by these legacies, which Japanese leaders have struggled to address. He argues that claims of rising nationalism in Japan are overstated, but there has been a discernable shift favoring the conservative Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party. Bringing together Japanese domestic politics with the broader geopolitical landscape of East Asia and the world, Japan's Security Renaissance provides guidance on this century's emerging international dynamics.

Appendix 1

Japanese Prime Ministers and Party Affiliations, 2000 to 2016

Name	Party	Dates in Office
Shinzō Abe	LDP	12/26/2012–
Yoshihiko Noda	DPJ	9/2/2011–12/26/2012
Naoto Kan	DPJ	6/8/2010–9/2/2011
Yukio Hatoyama	DPJ	9/16/2009–6/8/2010
Tarō Asō	LDP	9/24/2008–9/16/2009
Yasuo Fukuda	LDP	9/26/2007–9/24/2008
Shinzō Abe	LDP	9/26/2006–9/26/2007
Jun’ichirō Koizumi	LDP	4/26/2001–9/26/2006
Yoshirō Mori	LDP	4/5/2000–4/26/2001
Keizō Obuchi	LDP	7/30/1998–4/5/2000

Source: http://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/rekidainaikaku/index.html.

Appendix 2

Percentage of Party Vote and Seats in National Elections, 2005 to 2016

TABLE A2.1   Lower House elections (including dates and voter turnout percentages)

TABLE A2.2   Upper House elections (including dates and voter turnout percentages)

Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications; compiled by Naoko Funatsu, East-West Center, Washington, DC, http://www.soumu.go.jp/senkyo/senkyo_s/data/index.html#chapter1.

^a Percentage of seats of those contested: 480 in Lower House (475 in 2014); 121 in Upper House

^b Percentage of vote in SMD: small member/prefectural districts in Upper House

^c Percentage of vote in PR district(s)

^d Liberal Democratic Party

^e (New) Kōmeitō Party

^f Democratic Party (of Japan)

^g Japan Communist Party

^h Social Democratic Party

ⁱ Japan Restoration Party (Japan Innovation Party in 2014 and One Osaka in 2016)

^j Your Party

Appendix 3

Selected Historical Apology Statements by Japanese Officials, 1993 to 2015

1. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yōhei Kōno on the result of the study on the issue of comfort women, August 4, 1993

2. Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the war’s end, August 15, 1995

3. House of Representatives, National Diet of Japan, Resolution to Renew the Determination for Peace on the Basis of Lessons Learned from History, June 9, 1995

4. Prime Minister Jun’ichirō Koizumi on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the end of World War II, August 15, 2005

5. Prime Minister Naoto Kan on the occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty, August 10, 2010

6. Prime Minister Shinzō Abe on the occasion of the seventieth anniversary of the end of World War II, August 15, 2015 (cabinet statement)

1. Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yōhei Kōno on the Result of the Study on the Issue of Comfort Women, August 4, 1993

The Government of Japan has been conducting a study on the issue of wartime “comfort women” since December 1991. I wish to announce the findings as a result of that study.

As a result of the study which indicates that comfort stations were operated in extensive areas for long periods, it is apparent that there existed a great number of comfort women. Comfort stations were operated in response to the request of the military authorities of the day. The then Japanese military was, directly or indirectly, involved in the establishment and management of the comfort stations and the transfer of comfort women. The recruitment of the comfort women was conducted mainly by private recruiters who acted in response to the request of the military. The Government study has revealed that in many cases they were recruited against their own will, through coaxing, coercion, etc., and that, at times, administrative/military personnel directly took part in the recruitments. They lived in misery at comfort stations under a coercive atmosphere.

As to the origin of those comfort women who were transferred to the war areas, excluding those from Japan, those from the Korean Peninsula accounted for a large part. The Korean Peninsula was under Japanese rule in those days, and their recruitment, transfer, control, etc., were conducted generally against their will, through coaxing, coercion, etc.

Undeniably, this was an act, with the involvement of the military authorities of the day, that severely injured the honor and dignity of many women. The Government of Japan would like to take this opportunity once again to extend its sincere apologies and remorse to all those, irrespective of place of origin, who suffered immeasurable pain and incurable physical and psychological wounds as comfort women.

It is incumbent upon us, the Government of Japan, to continue to consider seriously, while listening to the views of learned circles, how best we can express this sentiment.

We shall face squarely the historical facts as described above instead of evading them, and take them to heart as lessons of history. We hereby reiterate our firm determination never to repeat the same mistake by forever engraving such issues in our memories through the study and teaching of history.

As actions have been brought to court in Japan and interests have been shown in this issue outside Japan, the Government of Japan shall continue to pay full attention to this matter, including private researched [sic] related thereto (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/women/fund/state9308.html).

2. Statement by Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama on the Occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the War’s End, August 15, 1995

The world has seen fifty years elapse since the war came to an end. Now, when I remember the many people both at home and abroad who fell victim to war, my heart is overwhelmed by a flood of emotions.

The peace and prosperity o...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Figures and Tables
• Preface
• Note on Asian Family and Place-Names
• List of Abbreviations and Acronyms
• Map of Japan and Its Region
• One. Japan’s Twenty-First-Century Security Renaissance
• Two. The Gradual Awakening
• Three. Japan’s Relative Decline and New Security Challenges in a Multipolar Asia
• Four. Domestic Power Transitions and Japan’s Evolving Strategic Posture, 2006 to 2012
• Five. The New Conservative Mainstream and New Security Policies Under Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, 2012 to 2016
• Conclusion: Implications and Next Steps in Japan’s Security Renaissance
• Appendix 1: Japanese Prime Ministers and Party Affiliations, 2000 to 2016
• Appendix 2: Percentage of Party Vote and Seats in National Elections, 2005 to 2016
• Appendix 3: Selected Historical Apology Statements by Japanese Officials, 1993 to 2015
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index