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Looking back to history, Japan's actions have actually far overridden the restrictions imposed by the Allied Powers just after World War II. In both the Cairo Declaration of 1943 and the Potsdam Declaration of 1945, the Allies agreed that Japan's armed forces and military capabilities would be completely destroyed to prevent the Japanese military from resurging. At the end of the war, Japan itself declared in its Constitution that it would not develop weapons or adopt an aggressive military policy that would pose a threat to the world, especially to its neighboring countries.
However, it seems that deep at heart Japan never intended to remain a "lame duck." When the Korean War broke out in 1950, Japan had the chance to serve as a military base, with the encouragement of the United States. Japan also came to be included in an anti-China bloc headed by the United States for the purpose of containing communist China.
During the Cold War, by taking advantage of the hegemonic competition between the two military blocs headed by the former Soviet Union and the United States from the late 1960s to 1970s, Japan was able to concentrate on economic construction. By the late 1980s Japan had become a real economic superpower, thereby "influencing and threatening" the other powers.
Economic activities including mergers and acquisitions by Japanese multinational companies sent an alert to the world, especially the United States. In the early 1990s, the world -- especially the Americans -- began to panic at Japanese economic initiatives in the world market. Japanese companies had become highly visible players in New York and other big cities.
However Japan could not fully implement its desired economic strategy, which was diverted by the unexpected economic crisis of the 1990s. Inflation and deflation caused Japanese companies to withdraw their investments from overseas markets and forced the nation to rebuild its economy.
Their unique character makes the Japanese people believe they are people of the "Sun God," with a destiny to lead the world. Japan never intended to give up militarizing the nation so as to resume its mission of being a world power. Therefore it is not difficult to understand why Japan has never made a wholehearted apology for its invasion of neighboring countries during World War II. Both mentally and philosophically the Japanese thought their invasions were justified by their mission as a unique nation.
Japan's hegemonic intentions have begun to resurge after the Cold War, with the United States the only superpower in the world. The country began by amending its Constitution to raise the limit of 1 percent of its budget to be spent on its military forces. Later it justified sending its forces abroad for peacekeeping missions. Recently Japan has demonstrated the aggressive development of its space industry. It is predictable that Japan will further amend its Constitution to allow more aggressive military activities.
The terror attack on U.S. targets on Sept. 11, 2001 provided Japan a hard-to-get chance to advance its strategy. With U.S. approval, Japan finally broke its Constitutional restriction on sending troops abroad, for the first time since 1945. Japanese forces were also deployed when U.S.-led forces invaded Iraq.
Japanese initiatives have grown more aggressive in recent years. Japan had repeatedly sought opportunities to demonstrate its military emergence in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Recently, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attempted to persuade India and countries in Southeast Asia to challenge China's military influence.
Japan may be concerned over China's military cooperation with Russia and Central Asian countries, in the name of fighting terrorism. Japan's participation in military exercises in September with the United States, India, Australia and Singapore could be regarded as Japan's interest in counteracting China, or as its interest in expanding its military influence overseas.
Japan's latest space initiative may be more significant than symbolic. Backed by a strong Japanese economy and advanced technology, Japan's plans to conquer space will very likely be fulfilled. That day may not be far off. The question is, what will be Japan's next act?
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(Zhang Quanyi is an associate professor at the Zhejiang Wanli University in Ningbo, China, and a PhD candidate at Shanghai International Studies University, studying policy making and collective identity. He is currently a research fellow at the School of International Studies at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea, under a grant by the Korea Foundation. He can be contacted at qyzhangupi@yahoo.com. ©Copyright Zhang Quanyi.)
