A Study Of Japan’s Quest For Regional Security Dominance

On December 17,2013,the National Security Council and the Cabinet of Japan discussed and adopted the National Security Strategy,which was Japan’s first official document on the national security strategy issued after the war,marking the formal formation of Japan’s national security strategy.Since then,under the guidance of the National Security Strategy,the Japanese government has revised the Three Principles on Arms Exports,lifted the ban on the right of collective self-defense,strengthened the Japan-US alliance,and built a multi-level security system.Strategy aims to allocate and mobilize forces and resources to achieve major or overarching goals,and is a process of linking goals and means.The national strategy is based on the national policy,the long-term strategy to achieve the national goal,and is stable in a certain historical period.The formulation and implementation of a strategy is carried out around the established strategic objectives,which play an important role in the overall strategy,so the most important thing in conducting strategic research is to understand the strategic objectives.An important background for the adjustment of Japan’s security strategy is the transfer of power,and from the domestic level,the power of the Japanese right wing has further increased;From the international level,the center of power in the international community is shifting from "west" to "east",and the Asia-Pacific region is gradually becoming a new world power center.Therefore,this paper attempts to introduce the theory of dominance into Japan’s security strategy and explore the real goals of Japan’s security strategy.Regarding the goals of Japan’s security strategy,there are several views in academic circles:first,to promote the revision of the constitution to lift the ban on the right of collective self-defense;Second,to realize the vision of a"normal state" and get rid of the system of defeated countries;Third,enhance influence and achieve the goal of "great power".I believe that Japan’s security strategy,which has been conceived and practiced,has exceeded the above goals,and that it has now achieved the elimination of the right to self-defense and moved away from the post-war system of exclusive defense,but its expansion in security strategy has continued unabated,and its real strategic intention is to compete for dominance in regional security affairs.In this article,we attempt to construct an analytical framework based on factors such as will,capability,and action,and to demonstrate whether Japan is seeking regional dominance in the security field.The framework of this paper is divided into six parts:the first chapter is an introduction.This chapter mainly introduces the formulation of research questions,analyzes the research significance of this topic from both practical and theoretical levels,introduces the two research methods of policy analysis and case analysis in this study,and finally reviews the existing research results.The second chapter is the conceptual analysis of the theory of dominance.This chapter is divided into two subsections:the content of the theory of dominance and the elements of dominance,the first section compares and analyzes dominance and hegemony,leadership and hegemony,and obtains a more rigorous concept of dominance;Section Ⅱ analyzes the three elements of will,ability and action involved in the role of ownership from the perspective of elements.The third chapter is Japan’s willingness to seek regional security dominance.This chapter analyzes Japan’s willingness to seek regional security leadership from two levels:leadership group and security strategy,respectively.Chapter 4 analyzes Japan’s ability to seek regional security dominance.Chapter 5 focuses on Japan’s efforts to take ownership of regional security.The chapter is divided into three subsections,the first is the implementation of the"Indo-Pacific Strategy",which argues its use of institutional competition to seek dominance through the analysis of Japan’s "Indo-Pacific Strategy";The second section is the construction of a multi-layered security system,which argues that Japan is leading the reconstruction of the regional security order by strengthening security cooperation among countries in the region.Chapter 3 is on the supply of public goods in the security field,and this subsection demonstrates Japan’s efforts to enlist its followers by providing public goods such as weapons and technology to the outside world.Chapter 6 analyzes the impact of Japan’s pursuit of regional security dominance from three levels:the regional security situation,the Japan-US alliance,and Sino-Japanese relations.