Japan's Role in the Asia-Pacific Region - Essay Example

After more than half a century of withdrawal from international politics, Japan is preparing to become a major player in the strategic struggles of the 21st century’ (Pyle). Discuss with reference to Japan’s role in the Asia-Pacific Introduction The Second World War has brought much damage to many countries, both in the Atlantic and the Pacific side of the coast. Most especially for the countries that were actively part of the war – either as an aggressor or a defender – damages incurred were particularly extensive. And for aggressor countries like Japan and Germany, they had the added pressure of rebuilding and reshaping their image in the international scene. Since the end of the Second World War, Japan withdrew from international politics, mostly because of measures imposed by the United States and by its Asian neighbours who suffered Japan’s aggression during the Second World War. And now after more than half a century of withdrawal from international politics, Japan is now slowly becoming a major player in the international scene. This paper shall discuss Japan’s re-entry into international politics, particularly focusing on Japan’s role in the Asia-Pacific region. Discussion Japan has been successful in playing a major role in international politics, especially in the Asia-Pacific region through its adoption of its multi-tiered approach. This multi-tiered approach which has been adopted to improve international cooperation among the Asia-Pacific nations is a new policy perspective which “packages different types of coordination among region states, including bilateral, multilateral, and minilateral or subregional, in a layered hierarchical manner” (Ashizawa, 2003, p. 361). Through this approach Japan has managed to maintain its enthusiasm for multilateral agreements even with countless criticisms on its significance and effectiveness. Through the multi-tiered approach, Japan has managed to maintain its security arrangements with the United States (Ashizawa, 2003, p. 361). And in applying such arrangements, Japan was able to form more connections with Asia-Pacific nations. With the adoption of new changes in its regional security order, the self-recognition of its status as a major power, and through its imposed constitutional constraints, Japan has managed to apply the multi-tiered approach as an effective approach in shaping its security policy and international relations 50 years after the Second World War (Ashizawa, 2003, p. 361). As far as its Asian neighbours are concerned, Japan has been trying to make a more major contribution to regional politics by slowly and gradually easing into the political discussions going on in the region. In the aftermath of the Second World War, “Japan’s relations with the rest of Asia were concerned mainly with promoting its far-flung, multiplying economic interests in the region through trade, technical assistance, and aid” (Country Data, 1994). Through negotiations for war reparations in the 1950s with Burma, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, Japan was able to normalize its relations with its Asian neighbours. In order to improve its image in the Asia-Pacific region, it joined the Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic and Social Development in Asia and the Pacific; it also attended the 1955 Afro-Asian Conference in Bandung, Indonesia; it extended US$50 million in credits to India, Malaysia, Taiwan, Pakistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka through projects which promoted equipment purchases in Japan (Country Data, 1994). During the 1970s, Japan made efforts to promote peace and stability in Asia through its offers of economic aid and as a mediator in disputes. Although its efforts have been met with suspicion from other nations, Japan made adjustments in its efforts towards regional stability in order to make such efforts more believable and reliable (Country Data, 1994). Japan’s efforts then concentrated towards lending assistance to developing countries in order to help modernize their industries. These efforts were ultimately geared towards helping these countries gain self reliance and economic resilience. Its efforts towards economic aid in the Asia-Pacific region indicated that bilateral aid in the form of yen credits, tariff reductions, larger quota incentives for manufactured exports, and investments in processing industries, energy, agriculture, and education would be the focus of its aid programs in Asia” (Country Data, 1994). In another effort to shape international politics in the Asia-Pacific region, since the 1990s, Japan has entered its bid to be a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (Austin & Harris, 2001, p. 6). In its bid, Japan expressed its desire to contribute to the peace and stability of the world. However, it has not been successful in its attempts to be a permanent member of the Security Council. Based on the UN assessment, in order to be a member of the Security Council, Japan must “demonstrate its determination to reorganize the United Nations and take a leading role in drawing a blueprint for reform before it attains its goal” (Drifte, 2000, p. 127). Nevertheless efforts by Japan to improve its chances of being accepted as a permanent member of the UN Security Council have been made by using economic aid as a tool of increasing Japanese assistance in security-laden areas (Drifte, 2007, p. 2). Consequently, “using its economic power to achieve its predominantly economic interests, the concept of ‘civilian power’ or ‘global civilian power’ has been proposed to characterize Japan’s as well as Germany’s power in the postwar period” (Drifte, 2007, p. 2). The ventures of Japan have now mostly been concentrated and focused on economic undertakings and aid in the Asia-Pacific region. Through these ventures, Japan has managed to portray its intentions towards a more politically engaging relationship with the rest of Asia. After adopting a policy of isolationism in the aftermath of the Second World War, Japan became a major player in advancing the Asia-Pacific region into a more politically cooperative and economically rich and diverse region. The struggle of most any nation in the current international scene is on being economically competitive. As globalization has now become the trend in international relations, the above measures on economic groupings and investments on Asian nations, helped Japan to earn regional and global advantages and clout as a political and economic power. In the late 80s to the early 90s, Japan increased its Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Its investments in Asia gradually increased throughout the 1990s. “By 1991, Japanese investment in Asia exceeded that in North America and Europe combined” (Denison, p. 72). In the years that followed, Asia received at least half or even up to three quarters of Japan’s FDIs. These investments and economic aid in the Asia-Pacific region, especially to the developing nations have “played a key role in moving Asian economies to higher stages of economic development; a new division of labour has been created, with Japan’s high-tech economy the regional leader” (Taylor, p. 16). The strategies that Japan employed in order to improve the Asia-Pacific region were still very much based on the recommendations and the applications of the United States and other Western nations. But such strategies were still part of the process of globalization, a trend dominating the 21st century politics and economics. “Japan reckons that economic development can strengthen the region’s political stability, thus consolidating the security of Japan’s economic interests in the region” (Mendl, p. 282). Its contributions to the ASEAN alone are considered to be the largest of its Official Development Aid (ODA) in the region. And through Japan’s economic leanings and applications, the Asia-Pacific has been able to enjoy substantial investment and economic outflow – outflows which have become more attuned to the demands of the international market. In terms of politics, Japan’s adoption of a pacifist and isolationist nature, which was prompted by its defeat during the Second World War and by the US control after the Second World War, became Japan’s best strategy. This policy was applied all throughout the Cold War; and such strategy allowed Japan to take on a more neutral and peaceful role in the US and Russia conflict and as a major player in the Asia-Pacific region (Singh, 2002). In the early 90s, Japan’s Foreign Minister Nakayama initiated the Nakayama initiative. This initiative “proposed the creation of a new regional multilateral security dialogue that would build on the existing Post-Ministerial Conference of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations” (Sansoucy, 2001, p. 160). This multilateral approach came about when after the Gulf War Japan was unable to substantially contribute to the settlement of the war. Japan was criticized because its contributions to unhinge Iraq were mostly non-combatant. Moreover, with Japan’s refusal to make true acknowledgements of its atrocious acts during the Second World War, it earned the ire of many of its Asian neighbours. Nevertheless, in the 1990s, Japan made firm efforts to be more accepting of its actions during the Second World War. Through its application of multilateral security dialogues, Japan was able to express its peaceful intentions in the Asia-Pacific region. Consequently, many Asia-Pacific nations were able to discuss ways for them to improve the transparency of their defence programs, “to control the conventional arms transfers, and to promote the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction” (Sansoucy, 2001, p. 166). Through these multilateral measures, Japan was able to contribute to more politically peaceful relationships within the Asia-Pacific region. Conclusion In the aftermath of the Second World War, Japan basically withdrew from the international scene. Its Asian neighbours were not ready to resume friendly relations with it, and the United States was closely guarding its actions in the domestic and in the international scene. When the Cold War broke out, as a nation which was closely watched and monitored by the United States, Japan became a pacifist and isolationist nation. As an isolated nation, it concentrated its efforts towards rebuilding. Consequently, Japan saw its efforts to rebuild gradually reach fruition; before long, it became one of the fastest growing economies in the Asia-Pacific region. Japan reached out to many of the developing nations in the Asia-Pacific region, giving these nations aid and investments on their industries; consequently, helping these developing nations achieve economic progress. Its investments in Asia became one of its biggest investments all in all. And through Japan’s application of its multilateral approach to international relations and politics, it was able to help in ensuring political stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Works Cited Ashizawa, K., 3 September 2003, Japans approach toward Asian regional security: from hub-and-spoke bilateralism to multi-tiered, The Pacific Review, Volume 16, Issue 3, pp. 361 - 382 Austin, G. & Harris, S., 2001, Japan and Greater China: political economy and military power in Asia, London: C. Hurst & Co. Denison, D., 2001, Managing organizational change in transition economies, London: Routledge Publishing Drifte, R., 2000, Japans quest for a permanent security council seat: a matter of pride, London: MacMillan Press Japan: Relations with Other Asia-Pacific Countries, January 1994, Country Data, viewed 12 March 2010 from http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-7297.html Mendl, W., 2001, Japan and South East Asia: The Cold War era 1947-1989 and issues at the end, London: Routledge Publishing Sansoucy, L., 2001, Japan’s Regional Security Policy in Post-Cold War Asia, The United States and Asian Security, viewed http://se2.isn.ch/serviceengine/Files/RESSpecNet/17380/.../OP26_Ch7.pdf Singh, B., 2002, Japans Post-Cold War Security Policy: Bringing Back the Normal State, Contemporary Southeast Asia, volume 24 Taylor, R., 1996, Greater China and Japan: prospects for an economic partnership in East Asia, London: Routledge Publishing Read More