Japan's changing foreign policy landscape

Japan is seen as a part of the West. SN Eisenstadt in his argument defining the West cogently placed Japan within the category, based on the markers of the West being consisting of ideological affinity to democracy, free market economy and other closely associated markers. Japan has also been identified as a security provider for the United States of America (USA) in Asia. So how far and to what extent is this labelling of Japan applicable to the contemporary international scenario? 

Invited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, the author had a chance to visit Japan in September 2022 and talk with some of the policymakers on a one-to-one basis. The succeeding discussion is a reflection of the understanding gathered, which aims to make the reader acquainted with the latest policy orientations of Japan, largely towards Asia, as well as to its alliance commitments. This write-up is organized thematically, based on conversations with policymakers, experts and scholars. 

Japan's commitment to Quad was the first issue on the agenda to discuss. Some of the perceptions, widely held and sensitized in the media on Quad, were nullified while speaking with relevant officials. 

By no means is Quad a security cooperation or an Asian NATO, as dubbed by some in the media and thus, creating hype about it. Such a negative portrayal of the Quad hides the real intentions of the cooperation as well as overshadows the areas that it works on. 

It rather emerged as a framework of cooperation among four countries (Japan, USA, Australia and India) that predominantly work on non-traditional areas of security, such as maritime domain awareness, climate issues, the resilience of supply chain and providing humanitarian disaster relief and management, among others. 

The primary concern is to tackle local security issues, keeping in mind the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP), which has global implications and thus, provides stability in the region. 

Quad works with concrete deliverables by ascertaining local needs, whereas Japan especially pays attention to areas that it can assist. In other words, it works in building resilience in the Indo-Pacific region, which can be both bilateral and multilateral. 

In a nutshell, Quad is an initiative where Japan is working to find a synergy with like-minded countries to promote Japan's interest to build a peaceful Indo-Pacific region and build the resilience of its immediate members in the neighbourhood.

The 21st Century is recognized by notable scholars and policymakers as the 'Era of the Indo-Pacific'. Japan's current foreign policy is based on former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's vision of the FOIP. This stands as the lynchpin of its foreign policy outlook. 

Along with this, Japan's foreign policy goals and objectives include a range of global governance issues such as climate change and global health governance among others. 

Certainly, the pandemic was an eye-opener for many countries, including Japan. To this end, Japan believes in cooperating with other countries, and especially with developing countries on creating mutual areas of benefit, as well as working to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

From the perspectives of FOIP and Quad, Japan recognises that its partners have their national interests and historical connections with other countries beyond the framework and the region of the Indo-Pacific. It believes that using the democracy versus authoritarianism dichotomy and a Cold War lens may not be fruitful in today's international environment. 

The Cold War analogy is rather a simplistic assertion without taking into account the contemporary complex geopolitical order. 

Similarly, it is not enough to refer to the issue of the 'debt trap', rather it is important to promote its alternatives, as proposed by Japan and its partners. In a similar vein, it is important to uphold the value of the liberal order and identify areas of cooperation between and among different nations under the broader rubric of FOIP. 

Being a part of the global society, the door must remain open to working with all the actors, without bringing in and overemphasising the dichotomous relationship of us versus them. This is why, Japan is expanding its network of cooperation and connection with African nations and the Pacific Island nations along with strengthening the existing cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as South Asian countries. 

For Japan, yet another area to cultivate strong relationships is with countries which are part of the Islamic civilisation. Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority country not only plays a vital role in ASEAN but also can be seen as bringing the Islamic culture closer to Near East Asia. Whereas in terms of non-doctrinal religion Japan can be seen in the far spectrum of it, the country cannot, however, overlook how countries with Muslim-majority are playing a significant role in international politics.

This is also an era of reevaluating the notion of official development assistance (ODA) for the recipients. Several ODA recipients have been able to create their agency. The notion of ODA being one-way traffic is shifting in the past 10/15 years. The relationship between the donor and receiver can no longer be seen as vertical, instead, it has transformed into a horizontal relationship. 

The previously recipient countries have acquired much-needed resources, such as—human, material and capital, among others. Therefore, there is an increasing realisation among the policymakers in Japan that diplomacy and development cooperation cannot be seen separately as earlier. Development cooperation, which used to be seen as a contribution to the global society, is now seen as much more incorporated with Japan's national interest.

For Japan's national and security interests, the promotion of universal values contributes to the promotion of democratic values as it fights against autocratic values. Japan does not compete with any other countries in terms of the volume of resources committed to promoting universal goods, but it prioritises its contributions on its merits and values to equitable development policies. 

In other words, Japan sees its contributions from a value-oriented point of view rather than being only a contribution in terms of the total sum of money. Thus, the nature of relationships with the rest of the world, especially with developing countries, rests on being more cooperative than a donor-recipient relationship. This can be seen as a major qualitative shift that has taken place in Japan's foreign policy in recent years.

Japan increasingly believes in minilateral cooperation for development and furthering its national interest rather than solely relying on bilateral cooperation. To this end, Japan works closely with ASEAN countries. Experts in Japan recognize that the country cannot further its interest by itself but rather by sharing its goals and works with its partners, which can lead to creating a formidable presence and acceptance of Japan's visions. This can help multiply the effect of cooperation that Japan is willing to offer to the rest of the world.

Bangladesh holds a special place in Japan's foreign policy outlook, which was once again reinforced in the recent speech of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivered during his trip to India in March 2023. The Prime Minister highlighted the role of Bangladesh in his speech as a part of the Bay of Bengal community and the potential the country holds. 

Similar views were echoed by experts, who are assisting Bangladesh in diversifying its economic options so that the country does not fall into the middle-income trap after its much-awaited graduation in 2026. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) can play a vital role in assisting Bangladesh in this regard. Bangladesh is already one of the highest recipients of JICA's yearly ODA and other types of grants. 

Japan has seen the phenomenal transformation that Bangladesh has achieved since the early days after Bangladesh's independence. It recognizes Bangladesh's long and arduous journey and its emerging geopolitical significance in the region of the Bay of Bengal. For both Japan and Bangladesh, each country holds a special value for the other, which was reverberated in the words of the experts based in Tokyo and Kyoto that I had an opportunity to discuss at length.

Lailufar Yasmin is the Professor and Chairperson of the Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.