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.