The Essential Challenge of “Economic Security”

Abstract

The argument that “the end of the Cold War will bring history to an end with the final triumph of a free economy and democracy” was incorrect. As the US-China confrontation developed, economic security was discussed in Japan. In May 2022, the Economic Security Promotion Act was passed. The essential challenge of economic security is to “strike a balance between economic logic and political logic from the perspective of maximizing national interests.” However, it is not easy to strike a balance between the logic of the economy, which seeks economic efficiency based on market principles, and the logic of politics, which seeks values different from economic efficiency, such as democracy. How Japan, which has its own relationship with the United States and China, respectively, will be able to achieve this balance between the two countries is a historical challenge. Japan must make endless efforts to fulfill its role in bringing stability to the international system.