POL 250

October 17, 2000

Introduction

Japan is located off the east coast of the Asian continent. It is an island state comprised of four large islands and more than 1000 smaller islands. Japan is a constitutional monarchy governed by the provisions of The Constitution of Japan originating in 1947. Since 1947, the national legislature (referred to as the Diet) has been the highest source of governmental power. The Diet is bicameral body and includes the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors. Executive power is designated to members of the National Legislature (called the Cabinet) and is headed by an appointed Prime Minister. Included in the duties of the Cabinet as outlined by the Constitution of Japan, is the management of Foreign Affairs.

Japan’s management of Foreign Affairs includes foreign policy goals, interests, and objectives. The purpose of this paper is to: 1) examine Japan’s current foreign policies and how domestic problems and variables contribute to the decisions Japan makes regarding these policies; 2) the effect international relationships have on the formation of foreign policy; 3) looking at Japan’s domestic variables and resources and how these factors aid Japan in pursuing their foreign policy objectives; and finally 4) how Japan’s internal belief system and its involvement with organizations and alliances affect its interest in pursuing certain foreign policy decisions.

Foreign Policy Goals, Interests, and Objectives

Japan has a number of current foreign policy objectives. All of Japan’s foreign policy objectives are designed with the interest of maintaining peace and stability within the country and internationally. The main foreign policy goals that Japan has outlined for the year 2000 are described as follows:

To Maintain Peace and Stability in Surrounding Regions –

This objective is important to Japan for many reasons but foremost because of its close proximity to many countries. These countries include but are not limited to the following; China, Russia, North Korea, South Korea, the Philippines, and Malaysia. It is in Japan’s best interest to establish and stabilize peaceful relationships with these countries. For example, trade relationships between the Asian Pacific countries are important to the economy of Japan. A second example includes fishing. Fishing is one of Japan’s largest industries. Because it is an island state it must maintain peaceful relationships with neighboring countries as severe fishing limitations can be imposed by other nations regarding fishing in waters near their shores. Such territorial disputes have occurred in The Sea of Japan with Russia.

By maintaining peaceful relationships with neighboring countries, Japan hopes to establish a sound basis for security and domestic stability. To encourage such relationships, Japan promotes security dialogues with other countries like China, Russia, and North Korea to enhance mutual confidence. This year Japan has met with China to discuss concerns over China’s increased military spending, and also to consult on the Asian economy. Japan has had similar communications with Russia regarding territorial disputes and issues relating to Russia’s control in the Kuril Islands. In an effort to maintain peaceful relationships in their region, Japan contributes to efforts for international peace and cooperation activities through such organizations as UN, ASEAN, and G-8. Conflict resolution is an important interest of Japan in maintaining and stabilizing peaceful regional and international relationships.

To Build Defense Capabilities -

After WWII, Japan was limited by the Allied powers in the type and amount of defense capabilities it could possess. It wasn’t until the peace treaty of 1951 that Japan was given the right to defend itself under the supervision of the United States. Since that time, the U.S. has been increasingly encouraging Japan to build up its defense capabilities. Japan’s national defense system includes capabilities for defense that take into account geographical proximity and the military capabilities of surrounding countries. Japan’s defense capabilities are defensive in nature and are in place to prevent aggression against its country. Japan, under terms of the WWII Peace Treaties, does not have the capabilities of becoming a military power that would pose an offensive threat to other countries. Japan possesses no nuclear weapons and relies on its security arrangements with the U.S. as a deterrent to other countries might pose a nuclear threat to Japan. Japan makes its posture for immediate action in response to a threat posed by another country a priority in its defense policy. They take a stance in the international community against nuclear armament and work towards non-proliferation policies globally.

Response to Large Scale Disaster -

Japan’s foreign policy includes provisions for appropriate and timely disaster relief. This includes acts of terrorism or military aggression from other countries that would threaten the lives and assets of Japan. In such cases, Japan would seek assistance from the appropriate international organizations such as the United Nations. And in situations regarding national security Japan would provide proper and timely response and seek the effective implementation of the Japan-U.S. security arrangement.

Japan’s geological position is such that it is subject to intense seismic disturbances or earthquakes. This poses a threat to the welfare of their people, so foreign policy regarding timely disaster relief is important in this area as well. An example of the devastating effects of these earthquakes was the 1995 earthquake in Kōbe where more 5,000 people were lost their lives, over 25,000 people were injured, and more than 300,000 Japanese people were left homeless.

To Continue to Recover From the Asian Economic Crisis -

In 1997 and 1998 Japan experienced a terrible recession. The Asian market suffered a crash as a result of financial difficulties and scandal involving government officials, bankers, and corporate leaders. Many banks collapsed due to bad loans. The economy during this time was characterized by high unemployment and devalued real estate. Business failures increased as a result of the economic downturn. The economy has had slight progress since 1997.

Foreign policy related to Japan’s economy is established to ensure stability in the Asian and global economy and to continue to recover economically. Japan has introduced stimulatory fiscal policies and deregulation policies in an effort to stabilize its financial system. The U.S. and China as well as other Asian countries are involved with the implementation of such policies.

Domestic Problems and Implications for Foreign Policy

Outside of the Asian economic crisis, another domestic problem that may have an impact on foreign policy goals is the lack of support for the current Prime Minister. Yoshiro Mori is the Japan’s current prime minister. Public support for Mori is weak and has been since he became Prime Minister in May 2000 because his administration has been riddled with scandal. Mori does not display strong leadership qualities and is hesitant to express his intentions for the country. His lack of reform for public finances and the government’s large accumulation of debt are the cause of widespread public anxiety about the future. This in turn has lead to decreased consumption by the Japanese people and slower recovery with relation to the economy.

International Relationships

Japan’s International relationships or friendships can best be described as economic in nature. Japan tries to maintain cooperative peaceful relationships with every nation, but tensions do exist with China, Russia, and North Korea. Tensions with China stem from Japan’s conquest of China in the 1930’s. These tensions continue because of the contrast between capitalist rule in Japan and communist rule in China. Tensions are still fueled by China’s control of Taiwan, and its interests in the Korean Peninsula. The Korean Peninsula is also the source of tensions with Russia as well as Soviet control of the Kuril Islands. In spite of these tensions Japan continues to participate in cooperative activities with these nations. Japan is a major trade partner with these nations and has assisted in financial activities in these countries.

Japan maintains good relationships with the United States, the European Union, the ASEAN countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangkok, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Brunei), and the ROK (Republic of Korea South). All of the above countries maintain good trade relationships. Cooperation with the U.S. exists on issues of global stability, science and technology, health and welfare, and conservation to name a few. The U.S. is also important to Japan because of Japan’s reliance on security agreements with the U.S. and their role as a deterrent to nations that would pose a nuclear threat to Japan. Many of the Asian countries and China have been important to Japan with regards to issues of strengthening the Asian economy. The European Union is important to Japan’s economy and is a major trade partner. Japan and ROK have strong ties and their Joint Fisheries Committee is important to the economy of both countries.

All of Japans international relationships exist to aid Japan in achieving its outlined foreign policy objectives and goals.

Domestic Variables

The five domestic variables that affect Japan are idiosyncratic, role, government, society, and systemic.

Idiosyncratic versus role: Japan first gained its independence in the year 660 b.c. , although it was first established many years prior. It has a long history of international trade and relations making it a reliable nation. Japan is very role oriented because of their defense policy. They do not play the role of the aggressor; rather they play the role of the defender. Their policy is only respond with violence when acted upon by violence. They do not wish to be a military power, they don’t want to create weapons or reach “max power”, to threaten other countries.

Government versus society: The government of Japan is that of a constitutional monarchy. This means that there is no president, but an emperor and prime minister appointed by heredity. They have a three-branch government. Executive, the first branch consists of state (emperor), head of government (prime minister), and a cabinet appointed by the prime minister. Legislative, the second branch, is a bicameral legislation; consisting of a House of Counselors and a House of Representatives. Judicial, the third branch consists of a supreme court, and a chief justice appointed by the Emperor. Society has no vote in choosing an emperor because the government is a monarchy, and since it is a monarchy the emperor and prime minister can appoint whomever they wish to high ranking positions. They can appoint people that will do as they say, making it possible for them Emperor to have his will done as he chooses. The majority of the society in Japan is 99.6% Japanese. The rest of the population is primarily Korean. There is no large integration of other cultures into Japanese society, therefore their traditions will be held into account when dealing with other countries.

Systemic: The resources in Japan include fish and minerals. They also have many metals used to make produce such as automobiles, which is one of the major exports of Japan. Geographically they are close to China, Russia, and Korea. It would be favorable for Japan to hold good international relations with these countries by keeping up trade.

Resources

The objectives of Japans foreign policy are first, to remain a defensive country only. They have an exclusive defense policy, which is to not act with force unless acted upon with force. The second objective is adhering to three non-nuclear principles, not possessing nuclear weapons, not producing nuclear weapons, and not permitting nuclear weapons in Japan. Another policy Japan has is securing civilian control. Political priority goes to the military so they have the power to impose rule upon civilians.

Economic and military resources Japan uses to maintain objectives of foreign policy are numerous. Japan does not spend much money on the military for defense, only 1% of the GDP. They spend absolutely no money on offense; therefore they use all their money to advance technology. Selling technology and technological principles, Japan has gained a buying power of 2,903 trillion dollars. Japanese manufacturers export 96% of products such as machinery, cars and electronics. 30% of that gets exported to the United States alone. Being one of the most technological advanced civilizations on the planet, Japan produces mass quantities of steel, electrical equipment, cars, car parts, and telecommunication equipment, among other things. Although the Japanese spend very little on military defense, they do have an organized military. They have three branches of military, The Japanese army, navy, and air force. The military has the manpower of 30,646,516 est. The amount of money spent on defense is $42.9 billion, only 9% of the GDP. The Japanese import $319billion worth of commodities per year. That includes food, fuel and manufactured goods. 24% of imports come from the U.S>alone, 14% comes from Europe, and 13% comes from China. The rest comes from various countries in smaller amounts. The large amounts of imports Japan takes from the U.S., Europe, and China make it somewhat dependant on these countries.

Ideology and Nationalism

I. Ideology:

In recent years Japan and its policies concerning foreign affairs have not had much to do with personal ideologies. The Japanese culture itself is not a culture that is arrogant and cocky. Although it is a culture that demands a lot of pride and honor from its people its people are still very humble.

Not since World War II has Japan been involved with attacking other nations or in other kinds of military conflicts with other nations. Before the World War II Japan had conflicts with China over the Korean Peninsula. In 1894 Japan and China had a small war which led to the signing of treaties that gave Japan rights over the parts of the Korean Peninsula and opened more ports for trading. Nonetheless these wars were driven out of economic interest not cultural supremacy or ideology.

After the United States dropped atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan the Japanese agreed to peace and promised to confine its sovereignty only to its four islands and never to declare war on another country unless it is in self defense and with the permission of the United States.

After the demilitarization of Japan, democratization and a quick economic recovery were the main goals. From this point on Japan became more interested in expanding itself economically by peacefully opening up trade with other countries.

II. Nationalism

In Japan nationalism is more important than Ideologies. Since the end of World War II Japan has focused all of its efforts into being one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world. This has created a great sense of nationalist pride.

Japans culture is a culture that encourages group work and respect amongst group members to reach a final goal. From early ages Japanese are taught the value of group work and the value of respecting superiors. Japanese people pride themselves in respecting others ideas and values while at the same time never trying to directly impose their own sets of beliefs on others.

Japans nationalism on an international level comes from its commitment to having open lines of communication with other countries and in letting other countries know that Japan is willing to work together in order to help all parties reach their goal.

The Japanese people use their culture and social values for a sense of pride and nationalism. They ultimately carry these values with them to the table of international politics and use them for their benefit and profit. The Japanese would be more content with making profit through peaceful cooperation then through war. Even in the early part of the century when Japan was involved in more conflicts their interests seemed to be purely economical and not imperialistic.

Organizations and Alliances

Japan is very actively involved with regional organizations and alliances. The reason behind this is to help Japan economically but also to make a more stronger nation. This is also to promote relations among countries in their region. Not only this, but Japan will enhance interaction and get closer linkages in East Asia and also recognize the fact that this will help increase opportunities for cooperation and collaboration with each other. Japan believes this will strengthen the essential important elements to promote peace, stability and prosperity in the region. They believe this will also increase independence in the age of globalization and information, also to enhance dialogue and to deepen and consolidate joint efforts in advancing mutual understanding, good neighborliness, trust, friendly relations, as well as peace, stability and prosperity in their region and the world.

Japan, in efforts to do all of the above, joined ASEAN to enhance their nation as well as building the economy of their great country; also in efforts to help others. They are one of the leading countries in ASEAN behind China, and the Republic of Korea. They have done this also to enhance their dialogue with other countries in their region and strengthen cooperation with a view to advance East Asian collaboration in priority areas of shared interest and concern. They have made this an important issue with others in ASEAN and with the ongoing efforts of the East Asia Vision Group that was brought about by ASEAN.

Under ASEAN, Japan and others in East Asia underlined their commitment to build upon existing consultative and cooperative processes, including joint efforts in different various levels and areas.

Economic and Social Fields

Under this comes the economic cooperation of the East Asian countries, the monetary and financial cooperation, as well as the social and human resources development along with scientific and technical development. Another important area is the cultural and information area and the development cooperation. Alliances that come under this area are ASEAN + 3 framework: HRD, APSSN, East Asian Business Council.

Political and Other Fields

In this area comes political security in East Asia as well as transitional issues. Their collective efforts and cooperation agenda support and compliment the initiatives of various multilateral force, the leaders agreed to intensify coordination and cooperation in various international and regional force, as well as in the regional and international financial institutions. Some of the groups that they deal with in this area are the U.N., APEC, WTO, ARF and ASEM.

ASEAN Declaration

Under this objective they (countries) under ASEAN pointed their aims and purposes of this association are as follows: (a) to move forward the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in their regions through everybody helping out and joint endeavors in the spirit of equality and partnership in order to make a stronger base for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian nations. (b)To promote regional peace and stability through rules that they follow to have a respect of justice and rule of law in the relationship among countries in their regions.

Under this they came up with their Fundamental Principles which included the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC). This stated:

a) mutual respect for independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, and national identity of all nations.

b) The right of every state to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion or coercion.

c) Non-interference in the internal affairs of one another.

d) Settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful manner.

e) Renunciation of the threat or use of force.

f) Effective cooperation among themselves.

After this came Political Cooperation Clause under ASEAN which stated that political and security dialogue and cooperation shall aim to promote regional peace and stability by enhancing regional reliance. This shall be achieved by cooperating in all areas based on the principles of self confidence, self-reliance, mutual respect, solidarity and this shall make the bases for a strong and viable community of nations in Southeast Asia.

One of the organizations/alliances that come under this is ARF-ASEAN Regional Forum. This aims to promote confidence building, preventive diplomacy and conflict resolution in the region.

Some of the organizations/alliances and treaties made in this certain area are as follows:

a) ASEAN Declaration on the South China Sea, Manila, 22ns July 1992.

b) Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon – Free Zone, Bangkok, 15^th December 1997.

c) Asian Vision 2020, Kuala Lumpur, 15^th December, 1997.

d) TAC in Southeast Asia, Bali, 24^th February 1976.

e) Declaration Concord (ASEAN) Bali, 24^th February 1976.

f) Zone of Peace, Freedom & Neutrality Declaration, Kuala Lumpur, 27^th November 1971.

Economic and Functional Cooperation

In this area they (ASEAN) wanted to raise the % of trade in their region among the member countries. PTA Program was brought about, which is the Preferential Trading Arrangement.

Came up with the Framework Agreement on Enhancing Economic Cooperation which brought about AFTA which is ASEAN Free/Trade Area. AFTA’s objective is to increase the ASEAN regions competitive advantages as a single production unit. To get rid of tariff and non tariff barriers among their member countries this is expected to promote greater economic efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness.

In 1995 – Agenda for Greater Economic Integration – moved up the timetable of AFTA from 15 years to 10 years of realization.

In 1997 – Asian Vision 2020 also called ASEAN Partnership in Dynamic Development which brings about closer economic integration within the region. This brought about a stable, prosperous and highly competitive ASEAN Economic Region which has free low of goods, services, investments, capital and equitable economic development and lesser poverty and socio-economic problems. Came up with The Hanoi Plan of Action to deal with this. The Trans-Asean Transportation network came about – included building of highways, railway networks, principal ports, inland waterway transport, sea lanes for maritime traffic and major civil aviation links. Building of national telecommunication equipment and services, Asean energy networks – include ASEAN Power Grid/Trans ASEAN Gas Pipeline.

So under this area the cooperation covers all of these areas basically: trade, services, investment, industry, finance, agriculture, forestry, energy, transportation and communication, intellectual poverty, small and medium enterprises and tourism.

From here they (Japan/ASEAN) in 1996 came up with the Framework for Elevating Functional Cooperation to a higher plane. They wanted to get shared prosperity through human development, technological competitiveness and social cohesiveness. Under this come certain group/organizations/alliances which head

PASD - Plan of Action on Social Development.

PACI - Plan of Action on Culture and Information.

PAST - Plan of Action on Science and Technology.

SPAE - Strategic Plan of Action on the Environment.

PADAC - Plan of Action on Drug Abuse Control.

PACTC - Plan of Action in Combating Transitional Crime.

Structures and Mechanism

In this area you get the highest decision making organ which are the Heads of State and Government meetings. This includes the Ministerial Meeting that is the Foreign Ministers. The ASEAN Summit is held every 3 years with Informal Summits held in between. These meetings deal with everything from agriculture and forestry to rural development, poverty alleviation to economics, energy, environment and finance.

Some organizations/alliances that come under here are the AIA Council, AFTA Council, ABF, ATA, Business Forum of ASEAN, ACCI, APA, AISIS and some inter governmental ones include ACE, ASEAN-EC Management Centre, ASEAN Specialized Meteorological Center and ATIS.

Japan is also very active in the global organizations and alliances as well. Not only have they done this to help with peace, stability and prosperity among the countries but also in efforts to help their economy/economic growth and the well being of their nation. Japan has also done this with joint efforts with ASEAN and the rest of the world to advance their international community and common interest.

Some of these organizations/alliances or groups globally are as follows:

a) U.S./China/Japan Triangular Trade – this is one of the most important alliances because of the fact that it brought a great deal of stability for them.

b) ECO – Economic Cooperation Organization , the GCC – Gulf Cooperative Council, the Rio Group, APEC – Asian Pacific Economic Corporation, ASEM – Asia Europe Meeting and EALAF – East Asia Latin America Forum. They are also involved with the U.N. and UNDP – United Nations Development Program as well as the EU – European