Japanese Research ›› 2023, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (2): 1-13.DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2023.02.001

• Original Paper •     Next Articles

An Analysis of Japan’s Foreign Policy during the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

QIAO Linsheng   

  1. Institute of Japan Studies, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
  • Received:2023-03-29 Online:2023-04-25 Published:2023-06-30

Abstract: The outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict had a great impact on the Japanese society, which had been under the influence of pacifism for a long time. The Japanese government not only condemned Russia’s military actions, but also cooperated with European and American countries to assist Ukraine and gradually strengthened economic sanctions against Russia. At the bilateral level, Japan's diplomatic measures directly led to the significant deterioration of Japan-Russia relations, promoted the rapid improvement of JapanUkraine relations, and further strengthened the alliance between Japan and the United States. At the multilateral level, it has promoted cooperation between Japan and G7 countries, strengthened Japan's ties with NATO, and also led to Japan increasing its efforts to promote the Indo-Pacific strategy. At the same time, the Russia-Ukraine Conflict accelerated the transformation of Japan's security strategy and propelled Japan towards a “normalized country”. The Japanese government has provided non-lethal military equipment such as body armor and helmets to Ukraine, which is in a state of war, for the first time, and Prime Minister Kishida also made an exception to become the first Japanese leader to visit a war area in Japan's post-war history.

Key words: the Russia-Ukraine Conflict, Japan's foreign policy, Japan-Ukraine relations, Japan-Russia relations

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