Buzan, Barry

Abstract
This article attempts to construct an overview of Japan’s defence problematique in the post‐cold war era. Its approach is to survey the historical legacies that have shaped Japan’s defence policies and perceptions, and to assess how these fit, or do not fit, with the new security environment within which Japan now finds itself. The purpose is to argue that a policy of non‐offensive defence (NOD) could solve many of the difficult defence questions that Japan now faces. As a consequence, the discussion will concentrate mainly on military and political issues, mostly leaving aside questions of economic, societal and environmental security on the grounds that these issues interact less strongly with NOD. Section 1 considers the geopolitics of Japan’s security that arise from its being an island country. Section 2 analyses some crucial historical considerations, particularly Japan’s status as a great power, and the particular circumstances of its historical relationship with its neighbours. Section 3 looks at Japan’s position during the cold war, examining how the legacies of its defeat in the Second World War blended into the demands placed upon it as a front‐line ally of the United States against Chinese and Soviet power. Section 4 surveys the actual and possible changes in Japan’s security environment consequent upon the ending of the cold war. It focuses on Japan’s relationships with the United States, the East Asian region, the international system as a whole, and finally on Japan’s relationship with itself. Section 5 considers the requirements for a Japanese defence and security policy in the post‐cold war era.