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One of the distinctive characteristics of Japan’s national security policy in recent years is the strengthening of its security relationships with Asia-Pacific countries and organizations such as the Republic of Korea, Australia, India, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in addition to its traditional alliance relationship with the United States. The Shinzo Abe administration has stressed that Japan’s national interests lie in particular in “the maintenance and protection of international order based on rules and universal values, such as freedom, democracy, respect for fundamental human rights, and the rule of law” (National Security Strategy). Accordingly, the Abe government has strengthened Japan’s engagement in the regions from the Western Pacific to Southeast Asia, and beyond the Indian Ocean as far as Africa. Japan has broadened its sphere of geopolitical engagement from mainly Northeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region to an area referred to as the “Indo-Pacific” region.
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