By Suvendrini Kakuchi
TOKYO, Aug 3 2005 (IPS)

Given a rapidly changing Asian security scenario wherein China and India loom large as future military powers, Japan has seen fit to take the first steps to carve out for itself a more active role in international defence, according to experts here.

”Japan has preferred to play a low profile in postwar security, but this is changing steadily. Today, Japan is paving the way to becoming a respected power in Asia,” said Toshiyuki Shikata, a military analyst.

Japan unveiled its new defence white paper this week in which the government has defined the role of its Self Defence Forces (SDF) as one that is better able to deal with new threats to national security such as ballistic missile attacks and terrorism.

China’s increasing defence budget and modernisation of its military -increased 12.6 percent from the previous fiscal year- was also closely outlined in the document titled ‘Defence of Japan 2005.’

”China is now watched as a military power in Asia, and yes, Japan’s new policy is to be able to have its SDF readily respond militarily if there is an attack from that country or any other,” explained Shikata.

A chapter in the new policy report says Japan is now putting emphasis on a proactive approach to conflicts or acts that are closely linked to its own peace and security.

Shikata points out that this policy is completely new. Japan’s defeat in World War II led the country to establish a postwar pacifist Constitution that stopped the country from maintaining its own military and relying heavily on the United States-Japan Security Pact for its national security.

But, 60 years on, a changing global structure has led Japan to raise its profile as a strong nation on the international stage, second to none of its emerging larger Asian neighbours, according to the Foreign Ministry.

As part of new steps in this direction, Japan is working hard to gain a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, amend its Constitution to allow military involvement overseas and conduct its own negotiations with Asian neighbours such as by making overtures to North Korea led by the conservative, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

Koizumi has also spearheaded a close-knit relationship with the US, including bending the pacifist, Article 9 clause in the Constitution to dispatch its SDF to Iraq to support US troops as well as launch a joint missile defense program by the end of this year, ahead of schedule.

The latest US-Japan agreement has been described as ”setting common strategic objectives to deal with new threats such as terrorism and rogue states,” provoking an angry response from China that sees the programme as a bid to contain its interests in the region.

Yet, experts say the new defence policy is clearly defined. Japan aspires to be a leader in Asia by expanding the role of the SDF and working closely with the US.

Harumi Arima, a political analyst, says the new thrust has created a divide among political players – mostly between the proponents of a pro-China policy and supporters of the US goal of making Japan its key partner in its aspirations of being the world’s policeman.

”There are many key players out there who are concerned that Japan is throwing all its cards into the basket held by Washington and they want a policy that does not aggravate Japan’s relations with China too much,” he explained.

For example, China’s natural gas drilling projects in the East China Sea near an area that Japan claims as its exclusive zone, is a major concern for Japan and pro-China experts are keen to settle territorial disputes by building closer Sino-Japan relations.

Moreover, Japan’s negotiations in the recently concluded six-party dialogue with North Korea on its nuclear program was not easy given that the other countries – China and South Korea and Russia – did not support its push to include the Japanese abductee issue in the negotiations.

Lukewarm efforts on the part of the US to support Japan on the issue was noted with stinging disapproval in Tokyo and disappointment has also been heavy after Washington turned down the bid by the G-4 (that includes Japan, India, Germany and Brazil) to be part of an expanded UN Security Council.

Nobushige Takamizawa, director of the policy section at the Defence Agency, said the key words in the report is building multilateral cooperation with Asian countries in the field of arms control and SDF activists as well as gaining the trust of the Japanese public, as the country moves ahead with its new role in international security.

Experts see this viewpoint as a sign of Japan’s strategy to create goodwill and gain support from the 10-nation, ASEAN grouping that includes, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Burma.

Japan already has strong economic with most of the countries of the ASEAN bloc which could come in handy as its defence aspirations grow.

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