The Nuclear Weapons Prohibition Treaty and the Paradox of Japan’s Nuclear Identity

On 7 July 2017, the “Nuclear Weapons Prohibition Treaty” (NWPT) to ban nuclear weapons in general was adopted in the United Nations General Assembly. The Japanese government, however, voted against the NWPT while insisting on its own resolution plan to facilitate global nuclear elimination. This paper examines Japan’s nuclear identity with regard to the legal prohibition of nuclear weapons, especially the NWPT. Why did the Japanese government vote against the NWPT despite the fact that Japan is the sole state to have ever suffered nuclear bombing in war? With a view to providing multiple perspectives regarding this simple but important question, this paper applies “analytical eclecticism” in combination with international relations theory. The multiple theoretical perspectives on Japan’s policy toward nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament are instrumental in clarifying Japan’s nuclear identity and exploring its role in nuclear abolition. Finally, this paper considers alternative policy options that the Japanese government needs to take into consideration and put into practice in order to bridge a gap between nuclear and nonnuclear countries toward the total elimination of nuclear weapons

Japan’s Policy on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in Light of IR Theory and Analytical Eclecticism

Japan’s policy toward the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement has been controversial at the political, academic, and public levels. The domestic debate on the TPP literally split public opinion in Japan, and academic analyses are apt to be argumentatively divided into pros and cons. Likewise, earlier studies regarding the TPP in the field of international relations offered particular theoretical perspectives, yet tended not to conduct eclectic theoretical examination. In order to overcome the research gap, this paper attempts to provide both narrative and theoretical explanations by applying international relations (IR) theory in combination with “analytical eclecticism” as a research method in the field of global and international studies. As an application of IR theory and analytical eclecticism, this paper seeks to offer multiple theoretical perspectives and analysis on why Japan has supported and facilitated the TPP even after the withdrawal of the United States during the Trump administration