Japan's Remilitarisation [Paperback]

Is Japan on a path towards assuming a greater military role internationally, or has the recent military normalisation ground to a halt since the premiership of Junichiro Koizumi? In this book, Christopher W. Hughes assesses developments in defence expenditure, civilmilitary relations, domestic and international militaryindustrial complexes, Japans procurement of regional and global power-projection capabilities, the expansion of USJapan cooperation, and attitudes towards nuclear weapons, constitutional revision and the use of military force.

In all of these areas, dynamic and long-term changes outweigh Japans short-term political logjam over security policy. Hughes argues that many post-war constraints on Japans military role are still eroding, and that Tokyo is moving towards a more assertive military role and strengthened USJapan cooperation. Japans remilitarisation will boost its international security role and the dominance of the USJapan alliance in regional and global security affairs, but will need to be carefully managed if it is not to become a source of destabilising tensions.

Introduction  1. The Trajectory of Japans Remilitarisation  2. Japans Military Doctrine, Expenditure and Power Projection  3. The Transformation of Civilian Control  4. Japans Military-Industrial Complex  5. Japans External Military Commitments  6. The Erosion of Japans Anti-militaristic Principles  Conclusion: Japans remilitarisation: implications and future directions  Appendix: Tables and charts

'This book is a rare find among recent publications, in that it comprehensively deals with the controversial topic of Japans remilitlG