ANALYZING THE DETERMINE FACTORS OF JAPAN’S FOREIGN POLICY CHANGE FROM PACIFISM TO PROACTIVE PACIFISM UNDER SHINZO ABE ADMINISTRATION

Abstract

Japan's foreign policy has been a topic that has attracted the attention of international political analysts, especially under the leadership of Shinzo Abe. The previous foreign policy, namely Pacifism, was considered to have pushed Japan into a passive actor, especially in security matters. However, Shinzo Abe's long administration has successfully pushed Japan's foreign policy change from Pacifism to Proactive Contribution to Peace Based on International Cooperation, better known as Proactive Pacifism, introduced in the National Security Strategy. This policy change was the first time in Japan after World War II's defeat and facilitated changes in Japan both domestically and internationally. This thesis aims to analyze the factors that prompted Japan to make changes in foreign policy under the government of Shinzo Abe. This thesis will use qualitative methods by processing primary and secondary data from various sources. To analyze further, this thesis will use the concept of an adaptive model of foreign policy from James Rosenau. The results of this study indicate that changes in Japan's foreign policy are adaptive behavior that is strongly driven by external and internal change factors. This result shows that changes in Japan's foreign policy are a form of preservative adaptation.