Japan may change security policy focus
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Japan is likely to adjust its security policy to pay more attention to non-traditional security threats as a result of its natural disasters, said analysts.
The recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan have reminded the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) that in a country frequented by natural disasters, more attention should be paid to non-traditional security threats, said Yang Bojiang, a professor at the University of International Relations in Beijing.
"An emphasis on non-traditional security threats will improve the DPJ's security outlook and promote its security cooperation with China and other surrounding countries", Yang said on Sunday in Beijing at a news conference on the release of the Blue Book of Japan: Annual Report on Development of Japan (2011).
The book, the third in a series written by Chinese scholars specializing in Japanese studies, deals with the major changes in Japanese politics, diplomacy, security, business, society and culture in 2010, especially the latest developments in Sino-Japanese relations.
"Sino-Japanese relations were tense in 2010" following the Diaoyu Islands incident on Sept 7, 2010, it noted.
"A lack of strategic mutual-confidence and a coordination mechanism to handle sensitive issues such as disputes over sovereignty is the basic reason for fragile bilateral relations."
Yang, author of the chapter on the DPJ's security policy, said after the natural disasters that hit Japan on March 11, there is an opportunity for Sino-Japanese relations, but the lack of strategic trust remains an obstacle. Shortly after the magnitude-9 earthquake and ensuing tsunami, China had prepared to send a rescue team with more than 100 members to Japan, but the Japanese government only accepted a 15-strong team, according to the Southern Metropolitan Daily.
"China made the utmost efforts to offer aid, but Japan is too cautious," said Li Wei, head of the Institute of Japanese Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and chief compiler of the book.
"To rebuild Japan's economy and reshape its political security order after the earthquake is an inevitable responsibility for the current DPJ administration during 2011," said the abstract of the book.
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