A study on Japan''s denfense policy after 2000

• Main Authors: Chi-Chung Yuan, 袁啟中
• Other Authors: 許志嘉
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2008
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/b48957

碩士 === 銘傳大學 === 社會科學院國家發展與兩岸關係碩士在職專班 === 96 === Abstract Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party issued the final version of the New Draft Constitution at the party’s 50th anniversary convention on Nov. 22, 2005. On Nov. 30, 2006, Japan''s parliament passed legislation to upgrade the country''s Defense Agency into the Defense Ministry, which formally became a full ministry on Jan. 9, 2007. This paper attaches great importance to such changes to see if this development signifies the Japanese Government’s intension of an even more important role in the international or regional security or demonstrates the country’s strategy is heading towards the former militarism as during the Second World War. This paper, adopting the related research method of levels of analysis in the international relation domain, looks into the changes of Japan’s perimeter security situation and those of the US Security Strategy in East Asia along with the changing of Japan’s defense policy at different periods since the year 2000, and then analyses the possible effect to the Taiwan Strait security posed by the changing of that strategy. The paper also focuses on Japan’s comprehensive security guarantee strategy and works out an annal of affairs relating to the country’s defense policy since 1945. Based on this annal, this paper makes comparisons of affairs before and after changes of the defense policy, as historical material can serve as the basis for research deduction and judgment. In terms of the analysis structure, first comes the background of Japan’s defense policy changing and its related materials, with discussion on international and regional affairs at different periods; second, discussion on the decisive factors for Japan’s defense policy making, focusing on the defense outline, the domestic defense law and the US-Japan Security Arrangement; third, discussion on Japan’s defense policy since the year 2000 based on the country’s basic defense principle, practical defense mechanism, the New Mid-term Defense Program and the Japanese-American Security Guarantee System; fourth, discussion on the effect posed by the changing of Japan’s defense policy with four distinguished sections: the reform of Purely Defensive Defense, the Perimeter Situation Law, the Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law, and the "Two Plus Two" Security Meeting between Japan and the US. With the basis of the annal of Japan’s defense affairs and through discussions in various chapters, the author discovers that Japan’s changes in defense mechanism at different periods are guided by the US but also severely challenged by the emerging China. Finally, the author probes into the effect of Japan’s defense development to the security situation of the Taiwan Strait in the future and proposes a double-direction observation from tackling the rising China with the US-Japan alliance and from replying to the US-Japan alliance with China-Japan dialogue. Keywords: Japan’s defense policy, Japan’s defense outline, the US-Japan alliance, the US Security Strategy in East Asia, perimeter situation, purely defensive defense, the Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law