Overcoming Security Isolationism: Japan’s Promotion of East Asian Security Multilateralism Since 1991 (YCAPS-JUMP Seminar)

Overcoming Security Isolationism: Japan’s Promotion of East Asian Security Multilateralism Since 1991 (YCAPS-JUMP Seminar)

January 10, 2019 , 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm (Asia/Tokyo)

Dr. Paul Midford, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, asked why Japan pursued regional security isolationism during the Cold War, and why it then suddenly ended this isolationism on the cusp of the Cold War’s end, embracing regional security multilateralism for his January 10, 2019, talk: “Overcoming Security Isolationism: Japan’s Promotion of East Asian Security Multilateralism Since 1991.” This talk focused on the July 1991 Nakayama proposal and the resulting legacy of more than a quarter century since of Japanese leadership in promoting regional security multilateralism.

Japan’s initial sudden burst of leadership, in the form of the proposal by Foreign Minister Nakayama Tarō and several additional proposals by Prime Minister Miyazawa Kiichi played a crucial role in introducing regional security multilateralism in East Asia through the establishment of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the first regional multilateral security forum. Japan’s consistent leadership thereafter also played a crucial role by building on the ARF to create other multilateral security institutions in East Asia, including the Northeast Asian Cooperation (NEA 3) from 2003, The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) in 2004, the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus Dialogue Partners (ADMM Plus) in 2010, and the East Asian Maritime Forum in 2012.

This presentation identified several challenges that Japan’s pivot from security isolationism toward security engagement and leadership in promoting regional security multilateralism was designed to address. First, in terms of overcoming Japan’s post-war reputational problem, the reassurance imperative is the most important factor explaining both Japan’s security isolationism during the Cold War and its subsequent active promotion of regional security multilateralism. This presentation also identified two other motivations for promoting regional security multilateralism: to mitigate its alliance security dilemma of entrapment versus abandonment vis a vis the United States, and to build new security utilities not provided by the U.S.-Japan alliance in non-traditional security areas, including counter-piracy, counter-terrorism, countering illicit trafficking in drugs, human smuggling, etc., and humanitarian and disaster relief operations (HaDR).

Speakers:
Dr. Paul Midford is the Director of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology Japan Program. He specializes in Japanese foreign and security policies, East Asian international politics, including regional security multilateralism, Japanese domestic politics, and Japanese and East Asian approaches to renewable energy.

Details:
Cost: Free of charge.
Location: (Updated)

Conference room 1, Werk Yokosuka Kinrofukushi Hall

ヴェルクよこすか（横須賀市立勤労福祉会館）第1会議室

http://www.werk-yokosuka.jp/access

7 min walk from Yokosuka-chuo Station

12 min walk from CFAY’s Womble Gate

Parking available

Co-sponsored by Jump and Temple University’s Institute for Contemporary Asian Studies.

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