Twenty-Five Years of Japanese Peacekeeping Operations and the Self-Defense Forces’ Mission in South Sudan

Abstract

Japanese participation in Peacekeeping Operations began in the balance between Constitutional and other legal constraints and demand for a larger international role in the post-Cold War era. The success of participation in the PKO in Cambodia and East Timor (UNTAC and UNTAET) created opportunities for further participation because of gradual acceptance of the participation of Self-Defense Forces (SDF) in UN PKOs. However, these successes did not change the fundamental constraints of the conditions for participation, namely the Five Principles on PKO participation. The arrival of the second Abe Administration, whose policy objective is to proactively contribute to peace, increased the expectation of Japan taking a much larger role in the UN PKOs, but the SDF participation South Sudan (UNMISS), which faced difficulties due to the lack of a firm ceasefire agreement and sudden breakout of civil war, raised questions of whether Abe’s policy was too aggressive. With the establishment of Peace and Security legislation, more proactive missions can be taken, but the necessity of national debate for building consensus about participating in PKOs still remains.