Japan’s amendment of its atomic energy law with the inclusion of a “national security” clause is being viewed within the country as a ploy to pave the way for the acquisition of nuclear weapons.
While the Japanese government is facing pressure from the Tokyo Metropolitan government, Ishigaki municipal assembly and the main opposition LDP to nationalise the Senkaku Islands, a section of Japanese people have been asking it not to provoke China.
The massive earthquake and tsunami which triggered the Fukushima nuclear crisis on March 11, 2011 has shattered the Japanese people’s faith in the safety of nuclear power generation.
The March 2011 triple disaster in Japan obligated a response from the US, its long-time ally. The US disaster assistance to Japan went beyond the customary nature of the countries’ relationship, and was conspicuous for the scale of military involvement that was embedded in the US-Japan alliance. The success of the US asistance programme Operation Tomodachi is attributed to interoperability between the defence forces of the two allies.
This Issue Brief assesses the pitfalls and opportunities as well as the likely course of action that the Japanese political leadership is going to define in the coming months.
The issue of “comfort women” continues to haunt Japan’s relations with its neighbour, South Korea. Koreans are unable to forget the atrocities committed by the Japanese military during the long colonial rule from 1910-1945 over the entire Korean peninsula.
Significant policy differences between the DPJ and LDP and New Komeito’s unwillingness to lose its identity will prevent the formation of a grand coalition.
