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Not quite the 'Great Britain of the Far East': Japan's security, the US-Japan alliance and the 'war on terror' in East Asia

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Hughes, Christopher W.. (2007) Not quite the 'Great Britain of the Far East': Japan's security, the US-Japan alliance and the 'war on terror' in East Asia. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, Vol.20 (No.2). pp. 325-338. ISSN 0955-7571

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09557570701414674

Abstract

Japan, in responding to US expectations for support in the 'war on terror', has displayed a degree of strategic convergence on global security objectives, thus prompting policy-makers and observers to dub it the 'Great Britain of the Far East'. This article argues, however, that Japan is far from assuming this role. For Japan, the 'war on terror' serves more as a political pretext for legitimating long-planned changes in military security policy that are often only marginally related to the US's anti-terrorism agenda. Instead, Japan has focused much more on using the terror threat rationale as a means to push forward its response to the regional and traditional security challenges of North Korea and China, even if at times it attempts to depict both as 'new security challenges' or as involving elements of counterterrorism. The final conclusion is that US military hegemony may be weakened by Japan's and the Asia-Pacific's potential divergence from the US global security agenda.

Item Type:

Journal Article

Subjects:

D History General and Old World > DS Asia
J Political Science > JQ Political institutions (Asia, Africa, Australia, Pacific Area, etc.)

Divisions:

Faculty of Social Sciences > Politics and International Studies

Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):

War on Terrorism, 2001-, Security, International -- East Asia, Hegemony , Japan -- Military policy, Japan -- Foreign relations -- Korea (North), Japan -- Foreign relations -- United States

Journal or Publication Title:

Cambridge Review of International Affairs

Publisher:

Routledge

ISSN:

0955-7571

Official Date:

June 2007

Dates:

Date	Event
June 2007	Published

Volume:

Vol.20

Number:

No.2

Page Range:

pp. 325-338

Identification Number:

10.1080/09557570701414674

Status:

Peer Reviewed

Access rights to Published version:

Open Access

References:

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