Contextualising Australia–Japan security cooperation: the normative framing of Japanese security policy

ABSTRACT

On July 1, 2014, Prime Minister Shinzō Abe's cabinet commenced a historic transformation of post-war Japan's security policy by overturning previous interpretations of the constitution's pacifist clause, Article 9. The Cabinet Decision on the Development of Seamless Security Legislation to Ensure Japan's Survival and Protect Its People stated that collective self-defence was consistent with the constitution and, consequently, Japan would immediately develop a more proactive and less constrained security policy. But while this outcome may seem sensible and overdue from a realist perspective of Japan's standing as a mature democratic nation in an increasingly difficult geopolitical situation, the manner in which it is being enacted may seriously undermine the normative legitimacy of Japan's new security identity. In this article, the author examines how Shinzō Abe's administration has attempted to shape the norms surrounding security policy revision in Japan, and how these norms, in turn, have affected or constrained Abe's agency. This is done with specific reference to the external contexts of the USA's ‘rebalance’ policy and the deepening of Japan's security relationship with Australia, with a view to anticipating how normative turmoil might impact on the potential of this relationship.

KEYWORDS:

• Australia–Japan security relations
• Japan security policy
• security norms

Acknowledgement

A preliminary version of this article was presented at the Fourth Australia–Japan Annual Dialogue, Tokyo, November 2014, hosted by the Griffith Asia Institute with the generous support of the Australian government through the Australia-Japan Foundation. Original research was supported by the Harold White Fellowship at the National Library of Australia. The author wishes to thank Daisuke Akimoto for his assistance in procuring some primary sources for this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Rikki Kersten is Dean of the School of Arts at Murdoch University in Western Australia. She specializes in Japanese political history, security policy and foreign policy. She has a particular interest in Australia-Japan security relations and the US-Japan alliance.

Notes

1. This includes the annual 2 + 2 talks, the 2010 Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement, the 2013 Security of Information Agreement and the 2014 Agreement Concerning the Transfer of Defence Equipment and Technology.

2. A ceiling of 1 percent of gross national product on defence spending, the three non-nuclear principles, maintaining only ‘self-defence’ forces, sunset clauses on peacekeeping missions and allowing peacekeeping only in non-conflict zones represent the most familiar of the associated constraints on Japan as a security actor.

3. While Japan's pacifist norm has changed since 1945, it has done so without any formal revision to the 1947 constitution having occurred.

4. Abe attempted security policy revision during his first term in office between 2006 and 2007, but this was an abortive attempt, as he resigned after losing badly in the half-Upper-House election in 2007.