Beyond Militarisation: Japan’s Path to Civilian Power

This article examines Japan’s evolution as a civilian power from 2012 to 2023, highlighting continuities and changes. In a nutshell, a civilian power prioritises cooperative international relations over unilateral action and military force. Using a qualitative content analysis of Japanese Ministry of Defence white papers, we base our analysis on three key categories to examine civilian power attributes: ‘Enforcement of morals’, ‘multilateralism’ and ‘will to promote and initiate’. Over 11 years, Japan has updated its Indo-Pacific partnerships, strengthened multilateral cooperation and pursued a proactive regional role. Contrary to views that Prime Minister Abe’s policies favour remilitarisation, we show continuity in Japan’s civilian power posture. While core values shifted from 2013 to 2020, the overall categories increased, particularly under Suga and Kishida. Our findings do not suggest a broad erosion of civilian power principles and show Japan’s gradual progression towards greater civilian power.