Japanese Assistance To The Middle East In The Post Cold War Era

Foreign assistance is an important tool for the realization of Japan’s political power and an important part of Japan’s diplomatic strategy.Japan’s aid to the Middle East countries was highly strategic from the outset,for three reasons.First,the Middle East region is Japan’s most important source of energy imports.Second,the Middle East obsessees unique geographical location of "two ocean three continents five sea",guarding the business channel between Japan and the Europe.The peace and stability of the Middle East is extremely important to Japan’s overseas trade.Third,the geopolitical changes in the Middle East region play an indirect role in promoting Japan’s political power,repeatedly becoming the opportunities and excuses of Japanese Self-Defense Force "going out".The importance of the Middle East region determines Japan’s emphasis on Middle East aid.At the same time,the complexity of the Middle East also determines the diversity of Japanese aid.Compared with China,Japan carried out earlier aid in the Middle East,a variety of mechanisms more mature.Its advantages are worth learning from,and its detour is also a warning.At the same time,many innovative points of Japan’s aid and "oriental characteristics" can provide new ideas for China’s aid program in the "Belt and Road" strategy.Secondly,whether Japan’s competitive relationship with China in East Asia will extend to the Middle East is also a noteworthy focus.Aid is the concrete manifestation of Japanese diplomacy.True intentions of Japan’s Middle East strategy can be confirmed through the specific practice of Japan’s aid,whether it is conducive to the building of “One Belt and One Road”.The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between Japan’s aid to the Middle East and the Japanese national strategy after the cold war.In the post-Cold War era,Japan’s aid to the Middle East countries continued to follow two main lines.The first line is the bright one,that is,the transformation of Japan’s aid to the Middle East,the militarization of means of aid,the ideologicalization of aid concepts.Japan aims to take the Middle East as a breakthrough,to achieve Japan’s political power.The second line is the dark one,that is,the transformation of Japan’s domestic political and economic system.Through the reconstruction of the domestic powersystem,Japan aims to cope with the international drastic changes after the Cold War and a new round of globalization on Japan’s impact.Meanwhile,the filing,legislation and decision-making process has also changed.Through the bright and dark lines,this article sorts out the historical evolution of Japan’s aid to the Middle East,trying to find out the fixed model of Japan’s pracitces of aid and its causes behind.Secondly,this paper focuses on three characteristics of Japan’s aid to the Middle East.First,the soft use of hard power,that is,the use of Self-Defense Forces in Japan’s Foreign assistance;the second is "visible aid",that is,focus on local cultural exchanges and technical cooperation;the third is to actively provide public goods,and to lead the regional international mechanisms and topic choice.Finally,through case studies,this paper analyzes the gains and losses of three characteristics in the specific practice.The case study can be divided into two different topics: how Japan participates in the Middle East peace process;how Japan participates in the anti-terrorist war;and how Japan participates in international maritime cooperation,including four cases:(1)Assistance to Palestine;(2)Participation in peacekeeping movement of the United Nations in Golan Heights(3)Involvement in the reconstruction of Afghanistan;and(4)the role played by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces in the reconstruction of Iraq;Subsequently,analysis the Japanese new assistent style to the Middle East after the "Arab Spring".