This event was recorded on January 26, 2022.
Japan’s Once and Future Foreign Policy
US-Japan Short Takes Series
Post-event summary
Dr. Green discussed the key arguments and insights laid out in his new book Line of Advantage: Japan’s Grand Strategy in the Era of Abe Shinzo. He briefly summarized the historical roots of Japan’s international strategy, then focused on what he described as the lasting impact of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in decisively moving Japan away from its post-World War II foreign policy framework. Dr. Green said that Abe introduced the concept of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” enhanced relations with the US and other members of “the Quad,” promoted constitutional interpretations affirming Japan’s right of collective self-defense, and reshaped its approach to China.
“Japan is ahead of the rest of us in figuring out how a major democratic industrial power competes with China but also cooperates with China – protects key technologies without decoupling and breaking the advantages of economic and technological and political interdependence,” Dr. Green said. “And I would argue that no other country in the world has had more influence on American strategic thinking about China than Japan. Historically in foreign policy we talk about the US-UK relationship as the special relationship, uniquely close. But in the context of China’s challenge, no country is going to be more important or has been more influential on American thinking than Japan.”
Abe also changed Japan’s use of Article 9 of its constitution as “an excuse” to avoid external security commitments. “Rather than needing an alibi to protect against entrapment in American Cold War adventures, Japan needed a guarantee that the US would be there,” Dr. Green said. Abe promoted a new understanding of Article 9 that says Japan both has and may exercise the right of “collective self-defense,” meaning it may go to the aid of an ally. He said a poll last year found strong support for playing some role to assist Taiwan should China attack, and said he was “100% confident that the US and Japan and probably Australia would respond robustly to any Chinese coercion against Taiwan.”
About the speaker
Dr. Michael J. Green is senior vice president and holds the Japan Chair and Henry A. Kissinger Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is also director of Asian studies and chair in modern and contemporary Japanese politics and foreign policy at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He has served at senior levels of the National Security Council from 2001 through 2005, first as director for Asian affairs with responsibility for Japan, Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, and then as special assistant to the president for national security affairs and senior director for Asia, with responsibility for East Asia and South Asia. He worked in Japan on the staff of a member of the National Diet. Dr. Green is a trustee at The Asia Foundation, senior adviser at the Asia Group, and associate of the U.S. Intelligence Community. He has authored numerous books and articles on East Asian security, including the forthcoming Line of Advantage: Japan’s Grand Strategy in the Era of Abe Shinzo (Columbia University Press, March 2022).
About the moderator
José E. Alvarez is the Herbert and Rose Rubin professor of international law at the New York University School of Law and faculty director of USALI. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the Institut de Droit International, and the Council on Foreign Relations. He also is a former president of the American Society of International Law and previous co-editor-in-chief of the American Journal of International Law. He teaches courses on international law, foreign investment, and international organizations. His more than 140 articles and book chapters and six books have made substantial scholarly contributions to a wide range of subjects within international law, including the law-generating rules of international organizations, the challenges facing international criminal tribunals, the boundaries between “public” and private,” and the legitimacy issues surrounding the international investment regime. His most recent books include The Impact of International Organizations on International Law (2017) (originating from his General Course offered at the Xiamen Academy of International Law), International Investment Law (2017), and The Boundaries of Investment Arbitration (2018).