NPS logo Naval Postgraduate School
Dudley Knox Library
        View Item 
        •   Calhoun Home
        • Faculty and Researchers
        • Faculty and Researchers Collection
        • View Item
        •   Calhoun Home
        • Faculty and Researchers
        • Faculty and Researchers Collection
        • View Item
        • How to search in Calhoun
        • My Accounts
        • Ask a Librarian
        JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

        Browse

        All of CalhounCollectionsThis Collection

        My Account

        LoginRegister

        Statistics

        Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

        How Does the Democratic Party of Japan Affect Security Policy? High Profile Stumbles and Quiet Progress

        Thumbnail
        View/Open
        Iconnps60-091012-11.pdf (1.292Mb)
        Download Record
        Download to EndNote/RefMan (RIS)
        Download to BibTex
        Author
        Weiner, Robert
        Tatsumi, Yuki
        Date
        2012-09-05
        Metadata
        Show full item record
        Abstract
        "When the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) took power in Japan in 2009, both Japanese and American observers feared sea changes in Japanese security policy. Compared to the longgoverning and familiar Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the DPJ seemed young and inexperienced, farther left and less ideologically coherent, and eager to make policy change for change's sake. The DPJ has appeared to earn this reputation over the last three years, as exemplified by its early mishandling of reorganization plans for U.S. military installations in Okinawa, which prompted widespread criticism both within Japan and from U.S. alliance managers and observers. This notion of a hapless DPJ is only partly correct. The DPJ government has indeed begun to popularize and politicize Japanese security policy, leaving security decisions more exposed to political and public leverage. This reflects the party's anti-bureaucratic policymaking instincts, its top-heavy structure, and its promotion of two-party competition. In some ways, though, the party has been a victim of its own success. It has stumbled most badly over the most high-profile, politically salient issues: military base politics, incidents surrounding territorial disputes, North Korea crisis management. This has reflected poor coordination more than misguided or unpopular policy stances. But at the same time, on many substantively important but less politically salient issues -- arms non-export policies, military-military relations with South Korea, the updating of National Defense Program Guidelines -- the DPJ is quietly progressing along a security policy trajectory that is familiar, constructive, and not particularly worrying for either the U.S. or the Japanese public. This pattern may be somewhat reassuring for American alliance managers, but it suggests the need to watch for gradual politicization of previously under-the-radar security matters. It also suggests that the handling of security policy has new potential to vex all incumbent Japanese governments, DPJ-led or otherwise, and thereby to contribute to governance destabilization across the board in Japan."
        Description
        Approved for public display, distribution unlimited
        URI
        http://hdl.handle.net/10945/34345
        Collections
        • CCC PASCC Reports
        • Faculty and Researchers Collection

        Related items

        Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

        • Thumbnail

          Japan: Asian peacekeeper of the 21st century? 

          Young, William J. (Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 1992-06);
          The building of a "New World Order" presents the United States with novel opportunities and problems. If the 21st century is to be the "Pacific Century," US-Japan relations will become the cornerstone of US policy. The ...
        • Thumbnail

          Factors affecting Japanese defense policy 

          Gauthier, John S. (Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 1991-09);
          This thesis describes many of the important factors influencing the process of Japanese defense policy formulation. The questions posed include (1) What will Japan's Role be in the emerging international security structure? ...
        • Thumbnail

          Time for a change in the U.S.-Japan security relationship? 

          Ashford, Russell P. (Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 1996-12);
          The United States - Japan Security relationship continues to exist in its present form because both sides have become used to it, and are wary to let it die in the face of future uncertainties. Without a threat of the ...
        Feedback

        411 Dyer Rd. Bldg. 339
        Monterey, CA 93943

         

        circdesk@nps.edu
        (831) 656-2947
        DSN 756-2947

        Start Your Research

        • Research Guides
        • How to Cite
        • Search Basics
        • Ask a Librarian
        • Library Liaisons
        • Graduate Writing Center
        • Thesis Processing Office
        • Statistics, Maps & More
        • Copyright at NPS

        Find & Download

        • Databases List
        • Articles, Books & More
        • NPS Theses
        • NPS Faculty Publications: Calhoun
        • Journal Titles
        • Course Reserves

        Use the Library

        • My Accounts
        • Request Article or Book
        • Borrow, Renew, Return
        • Remote Access
        • Workshops & Tours
        • For Faculty & Researchers
        • For International Students
        • For Alumni
        • Print, Copy, Scan, Fax
        • Rooms & Study Spaces
        • Floor Map
        • Computers & Software
        • Adapters, Lockers & More

        Collections

        • NPS Archive: Calhoun
        • Restricted Resources
        • Special Collections & Archives
        • Federal Depository
        • Homeland Security Digital Library

        About

        • Hours
        • Library Staff
        • About Us
        • Visit Us

        NPS-Licensed Resources - Terms & Conditions

        Copyright Notice

         
         

          Federal Depository Library  

        NPS Home Privacy Policy Copyright Accessibility Contact Webmaster