|
|
|
CIAO DATE: 11/05
Unsheathing the Samurai Sword: Japan's Changing Security Policy
Alan Dupont
November 2004
Abstract
This Lowy Institute Paper by Senior Fellow for International Security, Dr Alan Dupont, argues that Japan is moving away from its pacifist past towards a more hardheaded and outward looking security posture characterised by a greater willingness to use the Self Defense Force in support of its foreign policy and defence interests.
This shift is evolutionary, not revolutionary, but it is gaining momentum and represents a defining watershed in Japan's postwar security policy which will require some new thinking in Canberra as well as Tokyo.
