Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the implications of recent developments in US-Japan relations to Japan's ontological in/security. It views Japan's ambiguity towards the US "Other" as its source of a stable "Self". It offers an alternative perspective of ontological security based on fluid, ambiguous identities.

Paper long abstract:

Despite Donald Trump's antagonistic stance towards the US-Japan Security Alliance, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo showed no hesitation during his visit to New York in assuring the newly-elected US President of Japan's support for his leadership. While there is nothing new about Japanese leaders stressing the importance of aligning with the US for Japan's national security, I propose that looking at ontological security can shed light to what now appears as a desperate move by nationalist conservatives to keep the Alliance intact. Since 1945, Japan has maintained an ambiguous identity in relation to the US. On the one hand, US-Japan Security Alliance is central to the incremental realization of the nationalist conservative pursuit for Japan's remilitarization. On the other, its relations with the US have also played a significant role in shaping Japan's "abnormal" state identity. For the nationalist conservatives, Japan's defeat in the Second World War and subsequent Allied Occupation constitute a humiliating part of history that requires rectification. Yet, Japan was not clearly for or against the US. It has been flexible enough to carve out its own place in the world from being an imperial militaristic state to a non-military, economic superpower. This article argues that Japan's ambiguous attitude towards the US "Other" has been its source of a stable sense of "Self". Recent developments in US-Japan relations suggest that the more Japan seeks to become a "normal" US ally, the more it could become difficult for Japan to respond to emerging security challenges in the region. Contrary to current discourse on ontological security that aims for a clearly defined, routinized Self, this paper intends to offer a perspective of ontological security based on fluid and ambiguous identities, and to demonstrate how routinized relations could also be a source of Japan's ontological insecurity, especially in dealing with a rising China.