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Paper short abstract

The paper focusses on Prime Minister Abe’s capacity building of regional coast guards, arguing that it well represents the situation in which Japan’s foreign security policy options continue to be restricted by the regional power structure, domestic interests as well as the antimilitarist norms.

Paper long abstract

Abe Shinzō was one of Japan’s politically most active prime ministers in the country’s post-war history. When he first took office in 2006, he did not hide that he was personally strongly motivated to reform Japan’s security policy, thus challenging the country’s long-lasting constitutional commitment to pacifism. The capacity building of the neighboring countries’ coast guards through Official Development Assistance (ODA) was one of the most visible strategies to strengthen Japan’s security engagement in the region. However, instead of seeing it as an expression of Abe’s assertive foreign security policy, this paper argues that the capacity building of regional coast guards shows that Japan’s foreign security policy options remain strongly restricted by the regional power structure, domestic interests as well as the antimilitarist norms.