Japan to set up national security council

The Japanese government approved legislation last week to set up a national security council, according to a Thomson Reuters report. The council, a Japanese version of the White House’s National Security Council, is purported to facilitate more rapid foreign policy decisions for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the face of North Korean saber-rattling and territorial spats with China.

The need for a national security council was made apparent during the jihadist raid on a natural gas plant in January in Algeria, in which 10 of the 26 foreign workers killed were Japanese. Tokyo struggled to obtain information during the four-day siege.

However, I don’t believe Japan faces significant threats from North Korea or China at this time. According to Stratfor’s George Friedman, North Korea’s strategy is to constantly appear “ferocious, weak and crazy.” Utilizing this strategy, the country is always on the verge of launching a nuclear weapon, without actually doing it. The strategy apparently works as it allows the small, resource-poor country to sit down at the same table as the U.S., China and Japan to bargain for foreign aid.

Japan’s disputes with China are a bit more deep-seated, but not on the verge of a tipping point. My personal opinion is that nationalists in both countries play up the territorial dispute to justify defense spending. While the island dispute is important to factions in both countries, as evidenced by occasional violence over the islands, I don’t think either Tokyo or Beijing has the stomach to go to war over them.

Having said that, the country’s need for a more cohesive council is great as the current council has been criticized as being “too cumbersome,” according to the Reuters article linked above.

“We have put in place a structure that allows Japan to comprehensively monitor the country’s security,” Yoshihide Suga, chief cabinet secretary, said at a news conference.

The security council will bring together the prime minister, chief cabinet secretary, and foreign and defense ministers regularly to plan strategy. Other ministers may also been called in for emergency situations.

I have some doubts as to whether the new framework will enable more rapid decisions from Japan’s policy makers. Harmony, or wa, is Japan’s most valued ethic. Consensus is usually prized higher than efficiency or even an optimal outcome. New issues will most likely be discussed behind closed doors until every council member has reached a consensus. If an item is brought up before the council without all members having been privately consulted beforehand, a council member is liable to object to the item on the grounds that it was “unexpected.”

The bill to form the national security council is slated to be enacted in the fall. If nothing else, I think we can expect a more consistent foreign policy from Japan.