Japan's Threat Perception During the Cold War

Oren re-examines Japan’s threat perception during the first two
decades of the Cold War, using a wide range of source materials,
including many unavailable in English, or only recently declassified.

There is a widely shared misconception that during the Cold War the
Japanese were largely shielded from threats due to the American military
protection, the regional balance of power, Japan’s geographical
insularity, and domestic aversion to militarism. Oren dispels this,
showing how security threats pervaded Japanese strategic thinking in
this period.

By dispelling this misconception, Oren enables us to more accurately
gauge the degree to which Japan’s threat perception has evolved during
and after the end of the Cold War and to enhance our understanding of
Tokyo’s strategic calculus in the current situation of rivalry between
China and the United States.

This book will be of great value to both scholars of Japanese history and contemporary international relations.