Abe’s Search for Security

... behavior. This threat is addressed in the NSS and NDPG, and the current debate in Japan concerning Ballistic Missile Defense and developing a preemptive strike capability is largely driven by it. Another key factor shaping Japan’s security and defense policy is the state of the US-Japan alliance. For more than half a century the US has been the largest external balancer in Asia and Japan’s closest and only military ally. Against the backdrop of China’s rise and its increasingly assertive behavior, Japan has required constant reaffirmation by the United States of its security assurances. At the same time, Washington has indicated that it will no longer tolerate freeriding. In the heyday ...