Japan is an important part of the alliance based in the United States of America (USA) in the Asia-Pacific region. The most important reason for this situation is Tokyo’s perception of threats through Beijing and Pyongyang. For this reason, Japan conducts exercises in the region in partnership with the USA and South Korea and establishes close alliance relations with these two states. As a matter of fact, it is said that the stated goal of the exercises in question is the threat of North Korea, and the unspecified purpose is the strategy of containment of China.
As a matter of fact, Japan’s close feeling of the danger of both North Korea and China, and the fact that it constitutes an important pillar of the US’s regional goals, brings Tokyo closer to the axis of the USA and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and causes the country to focus on defense policies.
Looking at the steps taken by Tokyo in the aforementioned period, it can be seen that first of all, Japan’s inclusion in the AUKUS created by Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States in the Asia-Pacific region came to the agenda,[1] and then the trio of Japan, Italy and the United Kingdom decided to develop a new combat aircraft in cooperation.[2] However, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida described China as an “unprecedented competitor” in his cabinet’s new national security document[3] and announced that Tokyo would double its military spending in the next five years, citing the threats posed by China and North Korea.[4]
At the same time, Japan’s announcement that it will start building a $ 320 billion military pile that will arm itself with missiles capable of hitting China and make it ready for a hot conflict,[5] and Japanese Deputy Defense Minister Toshiro Ino’s statement condemning North Korea’s activities[6] are developments in the same vein. In this context, it is also an important development that Japanese lawmakers have begun to put pressure on the government to close two Chinese police stations that are said to be tracking anti-Chinese people inside the country and are thought to be for espionage purposes.[7]
As a matter of fact, considering the dynamics of the global political conjuncture, it can be said that the rapid acceleration of a state’s security capacity, both globally and regionally, will cause other states to experience security concerns and create a “security dilemma”. As a matter of fact, the defense capacity, which Japan began to strengthen with its proactive foreign policy, caused reactions from both its rivals and allies.
The first of these is the reaction of North Korea. As a matter of fact, Pyongyang criticized Tokyo’s new security strategy as an attempt to turn the country into an “aggressive military giant”. In its statement, the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Tokyo administration’s effort to acquire counter-attack capability cannot be called self-defense and is a clear attempt to acquire “preemptive strike capability aimed at launching attacks on other countries’ territory.” At the same time, North Korea also stated that Pyongyang could make a military move against Tokyo if Japan continued its strategy.[8]
In addition to all these, North Korea described Japan’s current policy as “arming for reoccupation” and warned Tokyo, stating that Pyongyang’s discontent would be shown “in practice”.[9] As a matter of fact, North Korea is one of the most important others of the Western alliance, but also one of the states that pose the greatest threat to Japan’s security. It’s not surprising, then, that Tokyo’s new breakthrough is disturbing Pyongyang. One of the main reasons for Japan’s moves is the nuclear threat posed by North Korea.
Another regional reaction to Japan came from China. As a matter of fact, a fleet of Chinese Navy ships passed near Japan. The destroyers Lhasa and Kaifeng and a supply ship passed through the Osumi Strait in southern Japan, while a Dongdiao-class surveillance ship with hull number 796 passed through the Miyako Strait south of Okinawa and reached the Western Pacific. The Japanese Ministry of Defense said that the ship was closely followed by Japanese ships and planes all along the way.[10]
China has stepped up its naval and air exercises around the Nansei/Ryukyu Islands. The Tokyo administration stated that it is expected that China will rehearse long-range missile attacks against the Nansei/Ryukyu Islands, where Japan plans to deploy long-range cruise missiles.[11]
As it can be understood, China, like North Korea, is one of the leading factors that caused Japan to make such breakthroughs both with its anti-Western attitude and its policies. As a matter of fact, it is quite normal for Beijing to be disturbed by the serious strengthening of the security strategy of a state, which is one of the important pillars of the Western alliance in the region and participates in the exercises by cooperating with the USA within the scope of the policy of containment / suppression of China
At this point, the most striking reaction against Japan in the Asia-Pacific region is the reaction given by South Korea. On December 16, 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea demanded the immediate removal of the territorial claims of Japan’s Dokdo and Takeshima Islands, which are included in the “National Strategy Document”, and stated that this move harmed the goals of “establishing relations for the future” between the two countries. The Ministry then summoned the Japanese Ambassador to Seoul to protest.
However, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs made a separate statement, announcing that they hope the implementation of Japan’s new security policy will be transparent and will continue to preserve the spirit of the pacifist constitution and contribute to regional peace and stability.[12] This situation is quite remarkable because Japan and South Korea act together against both North Korea and China and cooperate with the USA.
South Korea’s reaction has revealed that the states prioritize their own national security, even though they form alliances within the framework of certain goals. At the same time, this reaction can be interpreted as Japan’s proactive foreign policy creating a security dilemma. As a matter of fact, Japan’s increase in both its military and defense capacity does not only affect Pyongyang and Beijing; it also disturbed Seoul.
As a result, Japan is moving to a new foreign policy understanding due to regional threats. However, it can be stated that this situation has caused various concerns both for its rivals and its allies.
[1] “Japan Joining Aukus: the ‘Logical Choice’, but Would it Be A Full Partner in the Alliance?”, South China Morning Post, https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3200963/japan-joining-aukus-logical-choice-would-it-be-full-partner-alliance, (Date of Accession: 26.12.2022).
[2] “Japan, Italy, and the U.K. Are Teaming Up on a Secret New Fighter Jet”, Popular Mechanics, https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a42218929/japan-italy-uk-new-fighter-jet/, (Date of Accession: 26.12.2022).
[3] “Japan Calls China Unprecedented Challenge in Security Shift”, Yahoo, https://news.yahoo.com/japan-call-china-unprecedented-challenge-095006630.html, (Date of Accession: 26.12.2022).
[4] “Japan Defence: Chna Threat Prompts Plan to Double Military Spending”, BBC News, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64001554, (Date of Accession: 26.12.2022).
[5] “Pacifist Japan Unveilse Unprecedented $320bn Military Build-ıp”, Al Jazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/16/pacifist-japan-unveils-unprecedented-320bn-military-build-up, (Date of Accession: 26.12.2022).
[6] “Japan Protests N. Korea’s Latest Missile Launches”, News.com.au, https://www.news.com.au/national/japan-protests-n-koreas-latest-missile-launches/video/72c40174b38bd0dc5adab66e720f217d, (Date of Accession: 26.12.2022).
[7] “Japan Urged to Root Out Secret ‘Chinese Police Stations’ Amid Spying Concerns”, This Week in Asia, https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3204054/japan-urged-root-out-secret-chinese-police-stations-amid-spying-concerns, (Date of Accession: 26.12.2022).
[8] “North Korea Threatens Strong Millitary Step Against Japan”, AP News, https://apnews.com/article/japan-north-korea-ad0c8daea40f8e6ba148aed488dd5fb2, (Date of Accession: 29.12.2022).
[9] “Japan’s Shift in Defense Posture Riles North Korea””, Nıkkei Asia, https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/N-Korea-at-crossroads/Japan-s-shift-in-defense-posture-riles-North-Korea, (Date of Accession: 29.12.2022).
[10] “China Sends Ships Into Pacific Amid Japan Security Koves”, AP News, https://apnews.com/article/china-japan-ba727bc6b80fe06278ce43ae9a36e703, (Date of Accession: 29.12.2022).
[11] “China, Japan Up Military Ante on the Nansei Islands”, Asia Times, https://asiatimes.com/2022/12/china-japan-up-military-ante-on-the-nansei-islands/, (Date of Accession: 29.12.2022).
[12] “South Korea Protests Japan’s Island Claim in National Security Strategy”, Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-protests-japans-island-claim-national-security-strategy-2022-12-16/, (Date of Accession: 29.12.2022).
