JAPANESE FOREIGN POLICY AT THE END OF THE XX-TH CENTURY

Ershov Bogdan Anatolievich

Date of publication: May 28, 2021 DOI: 10.52270/26585561_2021_10_12_95

Historical Sciences

JAPANESE FOREIGN POLICY AT THE END OF THE XX-TH CENTURY

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Ershov, Bogdan Anatolievich1

1Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Academician of RAE, Voronezh State Technical University, 20-Let Oktyabrya Street, 84, Voronezh, Russia, E-mail: bogdan.ershov@yandex.ru

Abstract

The article shows the gap between the economic success of post-war Japan, associated with the organic combination of traditional elements of management and Western innovations, on the one hand, and its "secondary" role in world politics, due to its dependence on the United States, on the other. Special attention is paid to Japan's foreign policy, in particular, the steps towards changing the Constitution, the desire for membership in the UN Security Council, all these facts indicate Japan's desire to change its political image, to abandon unilateral Americanization, which has gone too far. However, a new acquisition of geopolitical independence of this country in the current global balance of power seems unlikely.

Keywords: japan, war, society, state, soldier. I. INTRODUCTION

Japan's claims to sole leadership in East Asia (or, more correctly, to a partnership with a decisive voice), as Russian scholars of Japanese studies note, are already irreversibly untenable, although Japan retains overwhelming economic power compared to other countries in the region. The previously established Japanese-centric model of economic interdependence in East Asia will continue to erode, so Japan will be forced to share the burden of leadership with China in a general atmosphere of "partnership and competition." Moreover, in the future, the energy of regional integration will increasingly concentrate around China, which will be able to gradually regain its position from Japan and become a hegemon in East Asia.

The above circumstances cannot but affect the perception of Japan by many Asian states, which view it as overly imitating the West and unwilling to join them in challenging Western policies, especially in the field of human rights. It can be said that, in general, Japan is perceived by many countries in the region not as a truly Asian country, but as a representative of the West in the East.

At the same time, Japan may try to acquire the status of one of the global leaders through active participation in peacekeeping operations based on the advantages of the US-Japanese military alliance and successful economic development.

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In the regional dimension, more multilateral Asia-Pacific cooperation is in Japan's interests. Such cooperation could, over time, have a positive impact on China in containing it.

II. METHODOLOGY

The methodology of the article is based on the results, which include a systematic approach, a historical and interdisciplinary analysis of the problems of Japan's foreign policy potential.

The content of the article covers the current stage of Japan's development (late 20th - early 21st centuries), when the level of globalization processes dictates Japan's new approaches to finding ways to enhance its geo-economic and geopolitical role in the Asia-Pacific region and in the world community as a whole.

III. RESULTS

At present, in the conditions of a bipolar structure of international relations, Japan adheres to a model of behavior based on the nuclear power of the United States. According to the leaders of Japan, this model is an important means of ensuring security and, in essence, boils down to a series of simple, most often routine, decisions, which are based on the desire for maximum gain with minimum risk and costs, both financial and moral. Japan paid for comfortable conditions for economic development and freedom of maneuver in this area by de facto renouncing independence in the field of foreign policy and security. The end of the "cold war" made significant adjustments to the country's foreign policy behavior. Today, in the sphere of Japanese foreign policy, the action of several forces is felt, the vectors of which do not coincide. As a result, it is very difficult to foresee the future moves of this state both in the global and in the regional strategic game in the international arena. The Japanese political class no longer shies away from discussing the country's global political role and issues related to its security. At the same time, he is in a state of deep division over issues related to Japan's role in ensuring international security and, especially, the sending of the Self-Defense Forces abroad, even within the framework of collective security agreements. The split is reflected in the positions of the leading political parties, both in power and in opposition. Reaching a consensus on these issues will likely take a very long time. At the same time, despite the noted split, the political class and public opinion in Japan insist on increasing the country's role both in the global and regional dimensions. However, the achievement of this goal is faced with the capabilities of Japanese diplomacy and conflicting views of various political parties, parliament and the media about specific ways of its practical implementation. Moreover, since Japan is the only member of the G-8 located in Asia and at the same time, as it were related to the West, its foreign policy service will be constantly monitored by parliament and the media with the aim of figuring out which course it intends to take. It is very clear to the country's foreign policy and administration officials that Japan shares and believes in Western values. This conclusion follows from the entire post-war history of the country - it was on the basis of Western values that its economic growth and peaceful development were ensured. At the same time, the formation of Japan's state interest is influenced by the duality of its position in the world arena: on the one hand, having the weight of an "economic giant", it has an impact on global and regional economic processes, and on the other hand, being a "political dwarf" in its entirety is in the orbit of US interests. Awareness of the infringement of the country's position in the international arena leads the Japanese to the idea of the need for "legal" possession of their own armed forces and the right to freely dispose of them. Related to this is the idea of revising the Constitution -bringing into line its provision on renouncing war "for ever" with the need to participate in foreign policy actions, including those related to the settlement of conflicts, around the world.

The Japanese Constitution is based on several principles - the sovereignty of the people, respect for fundamental human rights and the renunciation of war. The state's right to wage war is not recognized. This principle not only restricts Japan's sovereignty, but also came into conflict with the actual state of the country, preventing its participation in international peacekeeping efforts.

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Participation in peacekeeping operations under the auspices of the UN opens the way for Japan, which for many years adhered to strict principles of limiting military activities, a way to use its military capabilities in international cooperation. All this exacerbates discussions on this issue in public opinion and the political class of the country. Revision of the tried and tested political and economic attitudes, and even more so the rejection of the constitutional obligations that have defined Japanese pacifism for more than half a century is not an easy task.

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The realization that it was precisely the policy of non-participation in military conflicts that was one of the components of Japanese economic success seriously limits the scale of Japanese participation in military actions carried out even under the auspices of the UN. Japan supports and promotes in every possible way the development of regional cooperation with the countries of Asia and the Pacific, based on the concept of open regional cooperation.

However, there is also no unanimity in the approach to integration processes in the political class of the country. Even among the most convinced adherents of regionalism, an opinion is expressed about the advantages of abandoning the new zone policy in favor of an integrative future for East Asia, although this future looks rather amorphous. Others believe that the Japanese state should advocate regional cooperation, but not regional integration, which will inevitably limit its freedom of action.

There is also a third point of view, according to which the two Asia ("Maritime Asia", where order reigns under the auspices of the United States and Japan, and "Continental Asia", where the role of China is rapidly increasing, which must be limited) does not have an objective basis for voluntary integration into a single whole: their interaction can be carried out only on the basis of the policy of subordination of one Asia to another. Japan is also ready to intensify global cooperation, using the G8 and UN forums in this interest. In this regard, intellectual exchange is also important, since the Asia-Pacific region, reaching a new level of development, immediately faces all the problems accompanying such a transition to a new state. As a country belonging to both the Western and the Asian world, with an impressive intellectual potential, Japan could make a significant contribution to solving these problems.

More generally speaking, Japan's real foreign policy strategies are aimed at developing international cooperation in the interests of strengthening Japan itself and the security of the region; accelerate disarmament and prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons; participate in peacekeeping operations. These strategies maintain the priorities in Japanese-American relations as the cornerstone of Japanese foreign policy. Since the end of the Cold War, Japan-US security agreements have served as a source of stability throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

At the same time, expanding the scale of cooperation with neighboring countries such as China and Korea is an extremely important task of Japan's foreign policy.

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IV. CONCLUSION

The realities of the foreign policy strategy of the "Land of the Rising Sun" considered in the article have led to a contradictory state of the foreign policy consciousness of Japanese society, in which today two opposing phenomena coexist. One of them is that the Japanese increasingly feel themselves not only citizens of their country, but also citizens of Asia and the whole world. Another is characterized by a tendency towards self-isolation, the desire to equip their "small" and "cozy" Japan and not to chase after the "great-power phantom." In our opinion, despite the extensive discussion of this issue, Japan is now making no special efforts to play the role of a global power. At the same time, its ambitious rise is not ruled out in the wake of a new economic upsurge, which is possible in the coming years. In any case, Japan will strive for such a foreign policy that will intensify its role in the affairs of the Asia-Pacific region, increase its political weight in the world by strengthening its positions in cooperation with the strategic countries of the region, the main of which are Russia and China.

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ВНЕШНЯЯ ПОЛИТИКА ЯПОНИИ В КОНЦЕ XX ВЕКА

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Ершов Богдан Анатольевич1

1Доктор исторических наук, профессор, академик РАЕ, Воронежский государственный технический университет, ул. 20-летия Октября, 84, Воронеж, Россия, E-mail: bogdan.ershov@yandex.ru

Аннотация

В статье показан разрыв между экономическими успехами послевоенной Японии, связанными с органичным сочетанием традиционных элементов управления и западных инноваций, с одной стороны, и ее "второстепенной" ролью в мировой политике, обусловленной ее зависимостью от США, с другой. Особое внимание уделяется внешней политике Японии, в частности, шагам по изменению Конституции, стремлению к членству в Совете Безопасности ООН, все эти факты свидетельствуют о стремлении Японии изменить свой политический имидж, отказаться от односторонней американизации, зашедшей слишком далеко. Однако новое обретение геополитической независимости этой страной при нынешнем глобальном раскладе сил представляется маловероятным.

Ключевые слова: япония, война, общество, государство, солдат.

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