Debating Japan's intervention to tackle piracy in the Gulf of Aden: beyond mainstream paradigms

Abstract

The literature on Japan's international security policy, including overseas interventions, since the end of the Cold War has focused on Japan's emergence as a ‘normal’ state. This discourse is informed by realist theory, which posits that states aim to increase their material power to secure themselves in a hostile anarchical order. This article explores the maritime security role of the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) to elucidate alternative theoretical paths that shed new light on Japan's foreign interventions. Specifically, a critical constructivist approach is applied to demonstrate the unique maritime security responsibilities that the JCG has assumed in line with Japan's pacifist identity and even at the expense of the Maritime Self-defence Forces, as demonstrated in Diet debates on Japan's Anti-Piracy Measures Bill in April 2009. Rather than pressuring states to become ‘normal’, there is much to be gained from understanding how identities inform alternative approaches in International Relations.