Japan’s peace building diplomacy in Sri Lanka

Abstract

In May 2002, Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro declared: Japan will "strengthen cooperation for the consolidation of peace and nation building in countries suffering from conflicts. This policy has become a new pillar of Japan's international cooperation. ''1 The targets of Japan's peace building diplomacy include: Afghanistan, East Timor, Mindanao, Aceh, and Sri Lanka. Underpinning Tokyo's peace building diplomacy is the desire to play an active political role commensurate with its status as the second largest economy in the world. Since the 1991 Gulf War (when Japan was roundly criticized domestically and internationally for passively engaging only in checkbook diplomacy), it has sought to play a larger political role in Asia. A persistent image of Japan's foreign policy behavior is its passive and reactive nature, and a focus on mercantilism and economics. 2 Explanations for Tokyo punching below its economic weight in international affairs include: the legacy of militarism and defeat in World War II; an allergy among its East Asian neighbors toward a more assertive Japan in the military sphere; constitutional restrictions (Article 9) on Japan exercising the use of force to settle international disputes; a pacifistic political culture among the Japanese; resistance within the ruling coalition and opposition parties to Japan playing a more active military role abroad; and the idea that Japan, being a junior partner to the US superpower, should follow the lead of Washington in foreign relations. My central argument is that Japan has been seeking a more active political role in international affairs since the 1991 Gulf War. While the urge to play a larger political role is not new, the attempts to specifically consolidate peace in countries suffering from severe ethnic conflict and violence mark a new development in Japanese foreign policy. Tokyo is now committed to play a political role even in civil war-torn countries where thousands have perished and peace yet to be fully restored. The commitment to engage in peace building is evidenced by Japan's diplomacy in Sri Lanka. This political initiative is also reflected in Japan's reformulated Official Development Assistance (ODA) policy: there is a shift away from an empha-