Mar 21, 2022 (france24.com) - Japan has broken with years of precedent in its tough response to the Ukraine invasion, and the conflict could reshape Tokyo's defence strategy as it confronts China's regional ambitions, analysts say.
When Russia last pushed into Ukraine in 2014, Japan's response was seen as lukewarm, but this time around it has marched in lockstep with Western allies on unprecedented sanctions and tough rhetoric, even sending non-lethal military aid.
And the crisis is already impacting debates on security spending and capacity in a country whose constitution limits its military to defence.
"Japan has been accused before of paying its way out, in a way, just giving money but not being directly involved in any crisis," said Valerie Niquet, an Asia expert at France's Foundation for Strategic Research think tank.
This time, Tokyo is "putting a lot of emphasis on what they are doing... to show that they are not just sitting by and waiting to see how things will evolve".
And the speed with which Tokyo has moved on measures such as individual sanctions has been "completely remarkable", said Tobias Harris, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.
"This is much further than I thought we would see the Japanese government go."
In part, that reflects the extraordinary nature of the conflict, but several other key factors are at play, including the departure of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, who long sought closer ties with Moscow.
Abe, who resigned in 2020, had hoped warmer relations would lead to a breakthrough over disputed islands held by Russia, which Moscow calls the Kurils and Japan calls the Northern Territories.
But with Abe gone and years of deadlock on the dispute, Japan's government has felt freer to act against Moscow, though fears about energy needs have so far stopped Tokyo from pulling out of joint energy projects with Russia. ...continue reading
