On February 7, Waseda University’s Global Asia Research Center hosted a postgraduate workshop entitled “Japan’s Foreign Policy Grand Strategy for 21 Century: Structural Causes of State Behavior,” given by Mr. Tornike Sreseli from Hitotsubashi University.

Mr. Tornike began his presentation with a brief introduction of the “Complexity of the Modern World System, the “Westphalian” concept in the international system, and the role of Japan in world politics.” He then introduced his ongoing research, focusing on understanding the structure that influences behavior, external forces, the state, and actors. Finally, he discussed the implications for Japan’s foreign policy grand strategy.

During the presentation, he emphasized how the changes in “structure” within the international system could act as both an “enabler” and a “constraint.” In other words, it referred to the push and pull factor in the dynamics between states and structures in shaping foreign policy. In this context, Mr. Tornike addressed the three paradigms: Realism/Neo-realism, Liberalism, and Constructivism, before diving into his examination of Japan’s foreign policy.

The study aims to propose a theory and new hypotheses to be applied to the case of Japan’s foreign policy in the 21st century. Mr. Tornike used the structuralist approach (top-down) and eclecticism to examine the behavior of the state. In doing so, he noted that Japan’s foreign policy changed significantly after the Cold War, which altered Japan’s role in the international system. He added that Japan’s foreign policy in the 21st century was what most scholars called the “Yoshida Doctrine” was becoming “proactive.”  However, it remains controversial and difficult to characterize the significant change in the Yoshida Doctrine as passive, reactive, or proactive.

At the end of his talk, Mr. Tornike highlighted that it remains questionable for neo-realists and constructivists in explaining Japan’s post-Cold War foreign policy ‘grand strategy.’ Even the ‘balance of power’ concept could not explain why Japan continued to maintain the alliance with the U.S. Instead, it did not seek its rearmament.

After a fruitful discussion, Mr. Tornike indicated that the changes in the structure might affect the shift in the prevailing strategic ideas domestically, and there was also more analytical scope for domestic factors to influence structural pressures. In conclusion, it is critical to analyze a connection between the complexity of asymmetric relation and self-identity in structure.