We Are Tomodachi Spring 2018

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28Contributed Article: Dr. Michael J. GreenIn years past, many scholars criticized Japan for being a “reactive state” incapable of proactive or strategic action. I argued in my book Japan’s Reluctant Realism (2001) that the rise of Chinese power was propelling Japan away from an earlier era of “checkbook diplomacy” towards a foreign policy strategy based on more proactive balance-of-power logic. At the time, I was very much in the minority among Japan scholars in the United States in making that point. Today there is a much broader consensus among scholars and diplomats that Japan is, in fact, attempting to lead in the development of an open and rules based order in the Indo-Pacific region. Now the debate is focused on whether Japan’s grand strategy is effective.Is the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy” Japan’s grand strategy?What is “grand strategy”? It is the integration of all instruments of national power to shape a more favorable external environment for peace and prosperity. These comprehensive instruments of power are diplomatic, informational, military and economic. Successful grand strategies are most important in peacetime, since war may be considered the failure of strategy. Sometimes states pursue grand strategies without any explicit announcement. Sometimes states ceremonially announce grand strategies, but fail to actually execute them. Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s government has announced the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific.” Is it a grand strategy? And will it be effectively executed?I believe the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” flows from a strategic worldview in Japan, even if it does not spell-out every detail of the national objectives and instruments of power to be employed. That worldview is that Japan benefits from a regional order that is based on rule-of-law; transparency; openness; high quality rules for trade, investment and infrastructure; and the prevention of coercive actions against smaller states. That is a Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy” as Grand Strategyworldview that is strongly shared by the United States, as one can easily discern from the Trump administration’s decision to adopt the same label of “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” for its strategy towards the region. One can rightly criticize the Trump administration’s withdrawal from TPP as undermining that vision, but the fact remains that a strong majority in the Congress and the American public support free trade, strong alliances, and expanded American engagement in Asia. Australia and Dr. Michael J. GreenSenior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and Director of Asian Studies and Chair in Modern and Contemporary Japanese Politics and Foreign Policy at Georgetown University. He was Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and Senior Director for Asia on the NSC staff.