Diplomacy and Security Research Program

Shinichi Kitaoka (Professor, Graduate Schools for Law and Politics, University of Tokyo)
SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW

Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi’s “three principles” of Japanese foreign policy are instructive when considering the forms the country’s diplomacy has taken. His approach was centered on the United Nations, built around cooperation with the world’s free nations, particularly America, and rooted in the goal of maintaining Japan’s position as a member of the Asian community. During his 1957–60 administration, Kishi recognized the need for both Asia and the United Nations as counterbalances to an overwhelmingly powerful American presence. Today the Japanese look confidently at their country as an affluent and democratic state that must take its own steps in the diplomatic field, dealing with China and other Asian nations.

Standing firmly on a platform of universal values, Japan should be ready to deal with Africa on the global stage. The nation cannot talk about its respect for human rights on the one hand but do nothing for the plight of Africans on the other. Japan has gained considerable influence, and the question of the face it shows the world is vitally important. When it comes to security policy, too, the nation must not get mired in legalistic debate on what precisely its laws allow it to do. Its policy must let it deal with today’s concrete threats, head off latent threats before they surface, and realize an international climate in which such threats do not arise in the first place.

Japanese government moves to establish a national security council were a positive sign. But the tasks of diplomacy and security cannot be left entirely to diplomats and defense professionals. In Japan, however, policy research institutes are functionally underdeveloped. We need fully independent private institutes that can bolster the government’s role where foreign and security policy are concerned. Herein lies the goal of the Tokyo Foundation’s Diplomacy and Security Research Program.

Sketching the Future of Japan’s Foreign and Security Policy
(List of Projects)

• Contemporary America Research Project
• National Security Research Project
• The United Nations Research Project
• Political and Diplomatic Review Project
• Asian Studies Project