JAPAN: MAIN SECURITY AND ECONOMIC DRIVERS OF FOREIGN POLICY RESPONSES TO U.S.-CHINA COMPETITION IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION

This thesis examines the main security and economic drivers for Japan’s foreign policy responses to U.S.–China competition in the Indo-Pacific region through a historical lens. First, the Cold War era is reviewed to determine the effects of Japan’s post-war status under the occupation of U.S. forces and China’s rapid rise as an economic competitor in the region. Then, the last decade is reviewed to find the trajectory and consistency of Japan’s foreign policy decisions as the U.S. and China progressively competed for hegemonic influence in the region. This thesis found that, while security drivers tended to be consistent throughout these two periods, economic drivers were more diverse because of the radically different set of circumstances Japan has faced while it developed into a more autonomous country. Japan frequently reacted to perceptions of an increasingly hostile or unstable environment and to concerns of an over-dependence on the U.S., particularly during periods where the U.S. was viewed as a potentially unreliable security partner. While Japan's responses did not have a consistent set of economic drivers, there was a common trend of fear of over-dependence on the U.S. and China at different points in time.