Summary
Long constrained as a security actor by constitutional as well as external factors, Japan now increasingly is called to play a greater role in stabilizing both the Asia-Pacific region and the entire international system. Japan’s Security Agenda explores the country’s diplomatic, political, military, and economic concerns and policies within this new context.
Hughes looks closely at the security issues facing Japanese policymakers: among them, remnants of Cold War conflicts, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, transnational terrorism, organized crime, piracy, economic dislocation, financial crises, and environmental disasters. He then examines Japan’s response to these problems in the military, economic, and environmental spheres, as well as its key security relationships.
Does Japan’s multidimensional and comprehensive approach to security policy offer a viable alternative paradigm to that of the traditional U.S. and European, military-dominated model? Hughes’s theoretical and empirical illustrations demonstrate the benefits and drawbacks to such an approach in an era of globalization.