Debate over Japan's International Role: Contending Views of Opinion Leaders During the Persian Gulf Crisis.

摘要

Japan's dramatic ascent to the status of economic superpower raises significant questions about how it will wield the broader global influence ordinarily conferred by wealth. Its emergence as an economic leader coincides with the demise of the cold war. Taken together, these trends alter the basis of the long-standing U.S.-Japan Relationship. While the 31-year-old security partnership is likely to continue as a force for regional stability in the post cold-war environment, it is simply natural that a prosperous, self-confident Japan will begin to assert an independent voice in international affairs. In this study, the author examines Japan's recent debate over its policy in the Persian Gulf crisis. Particular attention is given to five competing schools of thought that shaped the national debate among Japanese opinion leaders. Although Japan's response to the Gulf crisis was marked by a series of false starts and confusion, it is likely that a new foreign policy paradigm will eventually emerge from the ongoing debate among the contending schools of thought identified by the author.