Missile Defences and Japanese Security

Abstract

Shortly after President Reagan announced his intention to pursue research on strategic defence, a number of analysts began suggesting that US allies ought to join the programme, and some time after Reagan’s speech, US Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger issued invitations to selected allies to participate. A natural candidate for co-operation was Japan: as one of the world’s leaders in high technology, it had much to offer to a research programme. From the start, however, Japanese public opinion was split on the issue; even Japanese businessmen were not confident that the benefits of joining the programme would outweigh the political costs. This chapter will analyse the economic and strategic issues involved in any multi- or unilateral Japanese missile defence system.