Publication

This paper examines changes in Japan’s security policy under the leadership of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The author specifically looks at 1) Japan's 2013 defense budget increase, the first in several year; 2) the 2013 introduction of a National Security Council and a Security Strategy; 3) the April 2014 relaxation of former arms export restrictions; and 4) the July 2014 reinterpretation of the “peace clause” in Japan's constitution. In general, the author argues that the changes do not constitute a radical change in Japan's strategy. They are rather the logical consequence of the gradual realignment of Japan's security policy since the end of the Cold War.