Japan's Evolving Interests in Multilateral Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific: A Two-Dimensional Approach

Abstract

The paper examines Japan's policy on multilateral security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. The central question the paper addresses is why Japan shifted its position from opposition to endorsement. Japanese policy is examined from two dimensions, namely functional and geopolitical. The former looks at Tokyo's policy change from its previous multilateral diplomacy whereas the latter analyses the shift from its Asian (Asia-Pacific) diplomacy. The paper finds that while there are five major factors that influenced Japanese policy-making, the reduction of U.S. military presence after the end of the Cold War and Japan's bitter experience in the Persian Gulf crisis were the driving forces behind Japan's policy change.