Uncertainties propelling Japan’s security turn in African policy

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks to Japanese soldiers upon their return from service as international peacekeepers in South Sudan, during a ceremony at the Defence Ministry in Tokyo on May 30, 2017. Japanese personnel and engineering units are serving in the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). PHOTO | TORU YAMANAKA | AFP

What you need to know:

  • And in the Indian Ocean, Japan is strengthening collaboration with India, which has a historical relationship with East Africa.
  • The passing of the International Peace Cooperation Law in 1992 enabled Japan to take part in the United Nations Peacekeeping.

Hiraga Chiharu, in her 30s, shares her birthday with the first atomic bomb ever used against human beings.

At 8.15 am, August 6, 1945, the famous “Mushroom Cloud” exploded in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, marking the dawn of the nuclear age.

As Hiraga walked through the gates of the Hiroshima Memorial Museum last year, she had no idea that she would become the 70 millionth visitor to the museum established in 1955.

Hiraga represents humanity’s quest for durable peace in an increasingly chaotic and uncertain post-Cold War world.

While two (China and Japan) of the world’s three most powerful economies are in East Asia, the region is in the shadow of Hiroshima.

SECURITY

Here, the rise of China and the resurgence of Russia have given rise to two historical narratives on security.

The first, captured by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, depicts Japan as a victim of past atomic bombing highlighting the risk of a looming nuclear menace in East Asia.

In the second narrative, signified by the Nanjing Museum in China, Japan emerges as an imperial power and aggressor in East Asia.

The Nanjing-Hiroshima narratives partly account for the deteriorating security environment in the Asian Pacific rim and are propelling the discernible security turn in Japan’s pivot towards Africa.

Contributing to the unstable and unpredictable environment in East Asia is the coming to power of Kim Jong-un in 2011, after the death of Kim Jong-il.

NORTH KOREA

Japan is particularly wary of Kim Jong-un’s determination to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, his provocative actions and North Korea’s huge military capabilities, including a 1.02 million strong army; 780 vessels with a capacity of 104,000 tons; and 560 combat aircraft.

Also troubling the waters is the growing military presence of Russia in the Pacific, including an army of 80,000, 260 vessels with a carrying capacity of 630,000 tons and 390 aircraft.

While China’s dislodging of Japan as the world’s second-largest economy in 2010 — a position Japan has held for more than 40 years — has contributed to tensions between the two Asian giants, it is Beijing’s military modernisation, rapidly expanding military investment as well as its expanding and intensifying marine activities in the South China Sea, which have jolted Tokyo’s strategists.

With an estimated 1.15 million strong army; 10,000 marine corps; 740 vessels with a capacity of 1.63 million tons; and 2,720 combat aircraft, China is indisputably the largest military in the region.

AFRICA

Additionally are ripples of the Sino-Japanese territorial dispute over the Senkaku (Japan) or Diaoyu (China) Islands and residual tensions with Taiwan, Japan’s erstwhile colony — which has an army of 130,000 soldiers, 10,000 marine corps, 390 vessels with a carrying capacity of 205,000 tons and 510 aircraft.

Defining Japan’s approach to this uncertain security environment is Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s notion of “Proactive Contribution to Peace” as the basis of a doctrine of international cooperation.

This is the lynchpin of Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy”, which sits on two strategic planks.

The strategy seeks to unite “Two Continents”: “Asia that is rapidly growing and Africa that possesses huge potential for growth”.

Inversely, as a “developing continent”, Africa faces the challenges of a youth bulge, poverty and terrorism.

Japan’s stated strategic intervention is to “provide support in the areas of development as well as politics and governance”.

But support has to respect the ownership of African countries without force or intervention.

MISSILES
The second is the “Two Oceans” plank as a maritime strategy to guarantee unhindered access to “free and open Pacific and Indian Oceans” and to deal with territorial disputes.

Japan’s response is multipronged. At home, it is strengthening its military capabilities, including establishing or expanding its military industry and technology, including empowering the Japan Self-Defence Force (JSD) — which currently has an army of 140,000, 134 vessels with a carrying capacity of 479,000 tons and 400 combat aircraft — to exercise the right of “collective self-defence” if one of Japan’s allies were to be attacked.

Regionally, Japan is supporting its friendly neighbours, including South Korea.

Globally, Japan is counting on America to provide extended deterrence for its allies and partners by its nuclear and conventional forces, including strengthening cooperation and joint deployment of Ballistic Missiles Defence (BMD).

Besides maintaining a strong military presence in Japan, the US is still the strongest power in the Asia-Pacific region.

Japan is part of a tripartite military détente that includes America and Australia in the Oceania.

MILITARY ASSISTANCE
And in the Indian Ocean, Japan is strengthening collaboration with India, which has a historical relationship with East Africa.

It has encouraged Japan to expanded its role in global security as a counter-weight to the growing combined challenge of China and Russia.

But the rise of Trump is complicating this matrix.

Tokyo is deepening security engagement in Africa.

Since February 10, 2015, Japan has revised the old official development Assistance (ODA) Charter partly allowing it to provide military assistance to foreign armed forces in Asia and Africa.

It is deploying more Self-Defence Forces Personnel to Japanese embassies abroad.

On January 2015, Japan deployed its first-ever Defence Attaché to Kenya.

PEACEKEEPING
The passing of the International Peace Cooperation Law in 1992 enabled Japan to take part in the United Nations Peacekeeping.

On September 2015, Premier Abe unveiled his plan to enhance Japan’s role in the UN peacekeeping operations.

Currently, Japanese personnel and engineering units are serving in the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

Besides establishing its Peacekeeping Training and Research Centre (JPC) to provide education, training and research on international deployments, Japan has supported the International Peace Support Training Centre (IPSTC) based at Karen in Kenya.

VIOLENT EXTREMISM
Since 2011, a Japan Self-Defence Force contingent of 180 troops has maintained a military naval base in Djibouti, next to Camp Lemonnier, the US base at the country’s international Airport.

In the wake of the killing of the Japanese journalist, Kenji Goto, and another hostage, Haruna Yakwa, by ISIS militants on February 2015, Japan has increased its support for Africa’s war against violent extremism and has been actively involved in counter-piracy operations in African waters.

However, with its hard power resources relatively weak and overstretched, Tokyo needs to invest in soft power.

Prof Kagwanja is former Government Adviser and currently Chief Executive of Africa Policy Institute