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The Copenhagen School's concept of securitisation is regarded as one of the most innovative, but also most controversially discussed approaches in IR and security studies. Located within the wider theoretical scheme formulated by the Copenhagen School, it provides a specific analytic in respect of examining security politics and, predicated on this, the evaluation of the prevailing pattern of security interactions on a given regional level. However, several commentators have pointed out a tension within the securitisation approach, which mainly stems from two different possible readings of this concept: one that puts more theoretical emphasis on language and a second that stresses the importance of considering context. By conducting a first-cut, preliminary analysis on one crucial issue of current Japanese foreign policy, the case of abducted Japanese citizens to North Korea, this paper highlights the challenges one encounters in trying to apply the securitisation approach to this specific case. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper will examine Japan's growing roles in US-sanctioned peace-keeping/building functions and in alliance with the United States, both of which are gradually blurring the border between Japan's self-defense and international security. This narrowing of the two areas is obscuring the relevance and meaning of Japan's policy of recognizing the nation's right to collective self-defense but not exercising that right. This blurring distinction is further eroding the restrictive constraints of Article 9 of the Japanese constitution on Japan's international security role. The paper will discuss these issues. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented on post cold war foreign and security policy being implemented by Japan. It discusses the changes in international security threat level and the responses of Japan. It mentions that the factor that contribute to the active participation of Japan in security issues is its enhancement of the U.S. and Japan alliance relations after the cold war.

Despite of the fact that China and Japan are becomingthe biggest trade partner with each other in recent years, politicalrelations between both countries have deteriorated. Many people in Chinastill concern over potential Japanese military resurgence, while more andmore people in Japan worry about China's military modernization and growingnationalism. The tension is unlikely to improve in the near future.The role of Taiwan in this China-Japan dispute is worth attention. WhileTaiwan has enjoyed de facto independence since 1949, it is still regarded byChinese leaders as a renegade province, and the recovery of the island wasconsidered in China as the sacred and ultimate goal. In recent years, Taiwanhas increasingly attempted to act as a truly independent state, adevelopment that could be attributed to political democratization on theisland since the late 1980s. The question is whether the leaders in Taiwanwill continue to push the envelope to a point short of de jure independencethat will be intolerable to the leaders in Beijing. On the other hand, bothTaiwan and Japan have shown strong intention in improving politicalrelations between both sides. Creation of a Japan-Taiwan alliance isbecoming a popular view in Taiwan's strategic circle, and Japanese publichave shown more sympathy to Taiwan's international isolation. Japanesegovernment even adjusted its policy toward the island state by including theTaiwan Strait into the sphere of concern in Japan-US Security Treaty. Thesedevelopments have been unthinkable in the past, because both China and Japanhave committed to the One China policy and because the Taiwan issueused to be excluded from China-Japan relations.This paper will examine the Taiwanese perspective of China-Japan relations.The author will outline the developments of Taiwan-Japan relations, identifythe strategies Taiwanese government have utilized to strengthen therelations with Japan, and to assess the Taiwan factor in future Japan-Chinarelations. In addition to analyses of secondary data, the author will alsointerview strategic scholars and even government officials to gain firsthand information. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although U.S. policy toward Asia is often articulated in terms of the emergence and political evolution of China, the U.S.-Japanese relationship has been the primary means of effecting American policy in the region for over a century and a half. If Washington is to achieve a second "Pax Americana" in this century, the relationship with Japan will continue to be a major factor as U.S. policymakers attempt to best devise and implement diplomatic and defense policy in Asia. The rapid development of the U.S.-Japanese security alliance in the past decade indicate that it will continue to be a viable and valuable policy tool in this effort, although there are several areas where it remains deficient relative to the demands placed upon it. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article will analyse and discuss the recent development in the relationship between China and Japan and its implications for security in Northeast Asia and for international security. The argument is that the relationship between China and Japan constitutes a serious risk of developing into a dominating regional bipolarity with characteristics similar to the Cold War bipolarity. Such a development will not only have strong implications for security in Northeast Asia, but also for international security especially due to the United StatesÂ’ security alliance with Japan and the strong interest of the United States to maintain its strong role in Asian security. The development in the Sino-Japanese relationship towards a hostile dominating regional bipolarity is however not inevitable and by adopting a long-term policy focusing on balancing the American security relations to Japan and China, the United States can help pre-empt such a development. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]