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Paper short abstract:

This paper examines Japanese attitudes toward the enhancement of military cooperation with the US. Using the original online survey data, I show how the fears of being abandoned by and dragged into conflicts involving the US influences public support for the JSDF's involvement in US operations.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines the determinants of Japanese attitudes toward the enhancement of military cooperation with the US. The role of Japan's self-defense forces (JSDF) in its cooperation with US troops has gradually expanded over years despite strong public discontent. Although previous studies have shown that citizens' concerns about being entrapped into conflicts involving the US constrained Japan's security policy strongly, empirical evidence is scarce, especially in quantitative investigations. Moreover, most previous studies focus on the Cold War era when Japan did not face substantive threats from its neighboring states and had little doubt about the alliance commitment of the US, while the past several decades saw the rise of tensions with China and the decline in US interventionism. To address the shortcomings of previous studies, using the original online survey data, I show how the fears of abandonment and entrapment exert influence on public support for the JSDF's involvement in US operations, including not only legally allowed activities such as providing logistic support to US troops but also legally prohibited ones such as fighting with US troops against the enemy. I also examine how Russian aggression in Ukraine and China's opportunistic stance are related to public support for the extended roles of the JSDF. This paper aims at contributing to the literature by showing that conditioned by threat perceptions, not only the fear of entrapment but also the fear of abandonment influence the level of public constraint on Japan's security policy.

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Paper short abstract:

Exploring Japan’s uneasiness about and antagonism towards China and Korea, this paper analyzes how the Japanese governmental views on China and South Korea have been reflected and intensified in the articles of Japanese newsmagazines.

Paper long abstract:

This paper analyzes how the Japanese governmental views on China and South Korea have been reflected and intensified in the articles of Japanese newsmagazines. Exploring Japan’s uneasiness about and antagonism towards China and Korea, this paper also examines how the Japanese government has had different attitudes toward these two countries.

Since the 2000, China and South Korea have had uneasy relations with Japan mainly due to the history disputes. As PM Abe persistently visited the Yasukuni shrine and supported the revision of article 9 in the Constitution, their relations with Japan reached the peak of emotional as well as political conflicts. With the power alternation in South Korea from conservatives to progressives, political strife between Japan and Korea has been in stalemate and it has exacerbated, for example, Japan's removal of Korea from her export whitelist. Japan has presented fear and hatred of China due to resistance against communism and has made considerable efforts to criticize China for a long time, exaggerating Chinese intentions to rule the world as a great threat to Japan. Notwithstanding, it has gradually enhanced relations with China.

Focusing on the most circulated news magazine in Japan, Bungei Shunjū, from 2018 to 2022, this paper analyzes the articles on China and South Korea exploring how opinion leaders who are like-minded with PM Abe and many right-wing LDP politicians shape their views on these countries. Through content analysis, it verifies whether their views on China and South Korea converge or diverge. This paper also attempts to provide a solid foundation for understanding of the resurgence of nationalism and the increase of anti-Chinese and anti-Korean sentiments by ceaselessly creating and strengthening the logic of differentiation.

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Paper short abstract:

What changes occurred in domestic institutions and discourses by the controversial security bills? The paper examines the conceptualization of proactive peace advocated by Prime Minister Abe. To assess the PM office’s power centralization level in diplomacy, I compare defense and foreign ministries.

Paper long abstract:

In the mid-2010s, Prime Minister (PM) Abe undertook a series of security sector reforms that introduced the policy term “proactive (contribution to) peace “(Sekkyokuteki Heiwa). The concept signified the “normalization” of Japan’s security and foreign policy, which he had made a top priority. The Legislation for Peace and Security proceedings caught fierce debate nationwide. Despite the public outcry, international reputation, and the risk of unconstitutionality due to Article 9 (renunciation of war), PM Abe tactically mobilized political capitals for the passage in 2015. Researchers have observed the power centralization in the hand of the PM and his office (Kantei) as a significant trend since the 2nd Abe administration. The empirical question is to what extent has the concept of proactive peace become institutionalized? What changes have occurred in domestic institutions and discourse since these laws’ passage? The implementation of these laws has received little attention from observers and academics.

The Legislation consists of the newly enacted International Peace Support Act and the Peace and Security Legislation Improvement Act which amends ten existing laws on the roles and responsibilities of ministries and local bodies in case of contingency. The government justified by claiming that the bill bridged parallel organizations to function more “seamlessly.”

Challenging the state-centric views dominant in the security literature, this paper investigates the changes in institutions and discourses at sub-state levels. I define sub-state entities as those working for the government below the PM and his office. This paper focuses on the two responsible ministries, i.e., the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and the Ministry of Defense (MoD). MoFA has arguably played a central role in post-war Japan’s foreign policy implementation since its independence. MoD, upgraded from the Agency in 2007, gradually increased its presence in the international security cooperation debates.

This project first analyses material and discursive changes using open sources: i.e., Diplomatic Blue Books (MoFA), Defense of Japan White Papers (MoD), and other publications. Second, interviews with practitioners would supplement this analysis to obtain internal views under the new conditions. By so doing, I consider the future directions of proactive peace conceptualization and its potential contradictions.