Hideaki Kaneda
Hideaki Kaneda, a former Vice Admiral of Japan's Defense Forces, is Director of the Okazaki Institute, Tokyo.
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2007-09-24
| Mid-level non-nuclear powers like Japan, Australia, Germany, and Canada share common values as free and democratic countries, and all are allies of the US. It is time for such countries to form a coalition that can contribute more effectively to, and wield greater influence over, efforts to promote international security.... read |
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2006-10-09
| Japan’s new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has wasted little time in making his mark, particularly in foreign policy. His official visits to China and South Korea – two key countries with which relations suffered under the administration of Junichiro Koizumi – came within a week of his taking office and at a moment of crisis, with North Korea setting off an underground nuclear blast. That Prime Minister Abe and Chinese President Hu Jintao agreed that a North Korean nuclear test “cannot be tolerated” suggests that this new activism may help to stabilize Asian security.... read |
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2006-06-07
| Southeast Asia’s return to prosperity since the financial crisis of 1997 has brought a region-wide splurge on new weapons. Most Southeast Asian countries are, indeed, now busily modernizing their armed forces. So far, most have done so without compromising their autonomy in security matters. But, with China’s military build-up causing nervousness everywhere, many governments in the region are starting to work with outside powers.... read |
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2005-12-06
| President Bush’s recent visit to Asia made little news – by design. But that’s because Bush didn’t begin to address the issue that is looming ever larger in the region: the changing face of security in Asia in view of China’s growing economic and military might.... read |
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2005-09-08
| In an age of missiles and terrorist threats, many people think that “sea power” is a word and concept from the past. Not in China. Indeed, China is increasingly emphasizing its naval and maritime interests: economic development, territorial management, energy and food security as well as trade. A navy sufficient to promote such activities is being rapidly developed and purchased from abroad (mostly from Russia, the EU when possible).... read |
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2005-05-02
| “Reform with no sacred cows” was Junichiro Koizumi’s slogan when he became prime minister five years ago, and no cow here is more sacred than our “peace” constitution. So it should be no surprise that, as Koizumi moves toward the end of his second and final term in office, his efforts to reform the constitution to allow Japan more effectively to defend world peace are gathering pace. ... read |
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2005-03-03
| North Korea’s announcement that it possesses nuclear weapons has fuelled a diplomatic frenzy. To persuade North Korea to return to the six-party talks – with China, Japan, the US, Russia, and South Korea – on defusing the nuclear threat on the Korean peninsula, Japan, the US, and South Korea have now offered to expand the scope of the talks to allow North Korea to raise any issue that concerns it. This could be a grave mistake.... read |
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2004-12-08
| Japan’s government and National Security Council plan to revise the country’s National Defense Program Outline (NDPO) by the end of this year. A draft of proposed changes submitted to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi assigns three key tasks to the Self-Defense Forces (SDF): effective response to new threats, participation in international peacekeeping activities, and defense against invasion. ... read |
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2004-09-15
| Football hooliganism and nationalism create a witch's brew that, until lately, has rarely been sipped in Asia. That changed at the recent Asian Football Cup. Wherever Japan's players went, they were met by hostile crowds, which culminated in the championship match with China before a huge - and hugely hostile - crowd in Beijing. This is especially worrisome because, unlike elsewhere in the world, official manipulation helps fan the flames of nationalism in China.... read |
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Iraq and Japanese Isolation
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Hideaki Kaneda 
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Every country that has sent troops to aid America's efforts in Iraq is under pressure, as the decision by the Philippines to withdraw its small contingent shows. But for Japan, the question of whether to continue to aid in Iraq's reconstruction extends beyond the merits of this particular policy and goes to the heart of Japanese notions of security and what constitutes the national interest.... read
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2005-09-08
| In an age of missiles and terrorist threats, many people think that “sea power” is a word and concept from the past. Not in China. Indeed, China is increasingly emphasizing its naval and maritime interests: economic development, territorial management, energy and food security as well as trade. A navy sufficient to promote such activities is being rapidly developed and purchased from abroad (mostly from Russia, the EU when possible).... read |
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2005-12-06
| President Bush’s recent visit to Asia made little news – by design. But that’s because Bush didn’t begin to address the issue that is looming ever larger in the region: the changing face of security in Asia in view of China’s growing economic and military might.... read |
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2005-03-03
| North Korea’s announcement that it possesses nuclear weapons has fuelled a diplomatic frenzy. To persuade North Korea to return to the six-party talks – with China, Japan, the US, Russia, and South Korea – on defusing the nuclear threat on the Korean peninsula, Japan, the US, and South Korea have now offered to expand the scope of the talks to allow North Korea to raise any issue that concerns it. This could be a grave mistake.... read |
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2004-09-15
| Football hooliganism and nationalism create a witch's brew that, until lately, has rarely been sipped in Asia. That changed at the recent Asian Football Cup. Wherever Japan's players went, they were met by hostile crowds, which culminated in the championship match with China before a huge - and hugely hostile - crowd in Beijing. This is especially worrisome because, unlike elsewhere in the world, official manipulation helps fan the flames of nationalism in China.... read |
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2005-05-02
| “Reform with no sacred cows” was Junichiro Koizumi’s slogan when he became prime minister five years ago, and no cow here is more sacred than our “peace” constitution. So it should be no surprise that, as Koizumi moves toward the end of his second and final term in office, his efforts to reform the constitution to allow Japan more effectively to defend world peace are gathering pace. ... read |
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2004-06-02
| Is it time for Japan to prime its weapons and sail out into the world in defense of peace? The very idea still incites howls of protest in Asia - not least in Japan, where popular attachment to the country's postwar "peace" constitution remains powerful. Yet Japan's modestly named Self-Defense Forces are involved in many regional hot spots (no combat duty, of course) and seek to play a more active part in UN peacekeeping. If a shooting war ever breaks out in Asia, Japan is nowadays prepared to do a lot more than fill the petrol tanks.... read |
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2004-07-23
| Every country that has sent troops to aid America's efforts in Iraq is under pressure, as the decision by the Philippines to withdraw its small contingent shows. But for Japan, the question of whether to continue to aid in Iraq's reconstruction extends beyond the merits of this particular policy and goes to the heart of Japanese notions of security and what constitutes the national interest.... read |
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2004-12-08
| Japan’s government and National Security Council plan to revise the country’s National Defense Program Outline (NDPO) by the end of this year. A draft of proposed changes submitted to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi assigns three key tasks to the Self-Defense Forces (SDF): effective response to new threats, participation in international peacekeeping activities, and defense against invasion. ... read |
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2006-06-07
| Southeast Asia’s return to prosperity since the financial crisis of 1997 has brought a region-wide splurge on new weapons. Most Southeast Asian countries are, indeed, now busily modernizing their armed forces. So far, most have done so without compromising their autonomy in security matters. But, with China’s military build-up causing nervousness everywhere, many governments in the region are starting to work with outside powers.... read |
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Shinzo Abe’s Grand Arrival
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Hideaki Kaneda
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Japan’s new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has wasted little time in making his mark, particularly in foreign policy. His official visits to China and South Korea – two key countries with which relations suffered under the administration of Junichiro Koizumi – came within a week of his taking office and at a moment of crisis, with North Korea setting off an underground nuclear blast. That Prime Minister Abe and Chinese President Hu Jintao agreed that a North Korean nuclear test “cannot be tolerated” suggests that this new activism may help to stabilize Asian security.... read
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The Rise of Mid-Level Powers
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Hideaki Kaneda
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Mid-level non-nuclear powers like Japan, Australia, Germany, and Canada share common values as free and democratic countries, and all are allies of the US. It is time for such countries to form a coalition that can contribute more effectively to, and wield greater influence over, efforts to promote international security.... read
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