Japan’s New Security Legislation: What Does This Mean to East Asian Security?

ABSTRACT

It is obvious that the security environment in East Asia is more unstable and unpredictable. In the South China Sea, tensions over disputed islands initiate a more severe Sino–American rivalry. In the East China Sea, China disputes the control over the Senkaku Islands, and is escalating military activities around those islands. North Korea continues provocative activities including launching of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons tests. This naturally leads to the idea that Japan needs to play a larger role to restore stability in the international order. This paper explores the challenges facing East Asian security in the face of the passage of Japan's new security bills in 2015 and how they impact the future of Japanese security policy.

KEYWORDS:

• East Asian Security
• Japanese security policy
• National Diet
• security legislation
• Senkaku

Notes

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Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yuichi Hosoya

Yuichi Hosoya earned his BA in politics in 1994 from Rikkyo University and his MA in international studies from the University of Birmingham in 1996. He received his MA in politics in 1997 and PhD in politics in 2000 from Keio University. He has been an assistant professor at Hokkaido University, Keiai University, and Keio University, a visiting researcher at Princeton University, and visiting professor at the Paris Institute of Political Studies (2009–10). Additionally, he is a member of Prime Minister Abe's Advisory Panels on Restructuring the Legal Basis for National Security and on National Security and Defense Capabilities.