TOKYO - Given a rapidly changing Asian security scenario wherein China and India loom large as future military powers, Japan has seen fit to take the first steps to carve out a more active role in international defense, according to experts.
"Japan has preferred to play a low profile in post-war security, but this is changing steadily," Japanese military analyst Toshiyuki Shikata said. "Today, Japan is paving the way to becoming a respected power in Asia.''
Japan unveiled its new defense white paper this week. In it, the government defines the future role of its Self Defence Forces (SDF) as one that is better able to deal with new threats to national security such as ballistic missile attacks and terrorism.
China's increasing defense budget and modernization of its military - increased 12.6% from the previous fiscal year - were also closely outlined in the document titled "Defence of Japan 2005".
''China is now watched as a military power in Asia, and yes, Japan's new policy is to be able to have its SDF ready to respond militarily if there is an attack from that country or any other,'' Shikata explained.
A chapter in the new policy report says Japan is now putting emphasis on a proactive approach to conflicts or acts that are closely linked to its own peace and security.
Shikata points out that this policy is completely new. Japan's defeat in World War II led the country to establish a post-war pacifist constitution that stopped the country from maintaining its own military and forced it to rely heavily on the United States-Japan Security Pact for its national security.
But 60 years on, a changing global structure has led Japan to raise its profile as a strong nation on the international stage, second to none of its larger Asian neighbors, according to the Foreign Ministry.
As part of new steps in this direction, Japan is working hard to gain a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, amend its constitution to allow military involvement overseas and conduct its own negotiations with Asian neighbors such as North Korea.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has spearheaded a close-knit relationship with the US, including bending the pacifist, Article 9 clause in the constitution so as to dispatch its SDF to Iraq to support US troops, as well as launching a joint missile-defense program.
The latest US-Japan agreement has been described as ''setting common strategic objectives to deal with new threats such as terrorism and rogue states'', provoking an angry response from China, which sees the program as a bid to contain its interests in the region.
Yet, experts say the new defense policy is clearly defined. Japan aspires to be a leader in Asia by expanding the role of the SDF and working closely with the US.
Political analyst Harumi Arimasay said the new thrust has created a divide among political players - mostly between the proponents of a pro- China policy and supporters of the US goal of making Japan its key partner in its aspirations of being the world's policeman.
''There are many key players out there who are concerned that Japan is throwing all its cards into the basket held by Washington and they want a policy that does not aggravate Japan's relations with China too much,'' he explained.
For example, China's natural gas drilling projects in the East China Sea near an area that Japan claims as its exclusive zone, is a major concern for Japan, and pro-China experts are keen to settle territorial disputes by building closer Sino-Japan relations.
Moreover, Japan's negotiations in the recently concluded six-party talks with North Korea on its nuclear program were not easy, given that China, South Korea and Russia did not support its push to include the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by the North in the 1970s.
Lukewarm efforts on the part of the US to support Japan on the issue were noted with stinging disapproval in Tokyo, and disappointment has also been heavy after Washington turned down the bid by the G-4 (Japan, India, Germany and Brazil) to be part of an expanded UN Security Council.
Nobushige Takamizawa, director of the policy section at the Defence Agency, said the key words in the white paper pertain to building multilateral cooperation with Asian countries in the field of arms control and SDF activities, as well as gaining the trust of the Japanese public as the country moves ahead with its new role in international security.
Experts see this viewpoint as a sign of Japan's strategy to create goodwill and gain support from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Japan already has strong economic ties with most of the countries of the ASEAN bloc, which could come in handy as its defense aspirations grow.
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