Abstract
This paper addresses the domestic and international security policy implications of Japan's venture into the field of United Nations peacekeeping operations. In particular it raises two issues on which the evolution of Japan's regional and international role is contingent: the first is the extent of Japan's ability and willingness to participate in collective security in a U.N. context; the second is Japan's ability and willingness to make military contributions to regional security in the context of the U.S.- Japan alliance.