Paper short abstract:

This paper addresses the impact of a changing relationship with America on Sino-Japanese relations, focusing on how this, in turn, affects Japan`s ontological security. It relates the fear of geopolitical abandonment with the reconstruction of the Japanese "Self".

Paper long abstract:

　　　　This paper examines the growing uncertainty concerning America's security guarantee on Sino-Japanese relations and how this affects Japan's ontological security. Post-war Japan`s security and position in the world were fundamentally anchored in its alliance with the U.S. Under the Security Alliance Japan focused on its economic recovery and development. Japan's economic prowess became a key soft power tool for Japan. During the Cold War, Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA) and its financing of international institutions and U.S. military interventions were essential for Japan to exert its influence and develop a renewed sense of purpose. Since the end of the Cold War, critiques of this 'chequebook dilomacy' forced Japan to reinvent its identity and forge a new international security role.

Now economic stagnation and a heightened perception of geopolitical abandonment are pressuring Japan to reconstruct its identity again. The U.S. has increasingly sought a more balanced relationship that demands more from Japan, particularly in terms of balancing Chinese assertive behaviour. At the same time, despite a strong economic relationship, China continues to frame Japan as a victimizing "Other". These factors put Japan's ontological security under sustained pressure, bringing into question whether Japan's sense of self remains tenable in these uncertain times.