JAPANESE POLICY AND THE NORTH-KOREAN SOFT LANDING

The nature of security on the Korean Peninsula has undergone fundament al change in the post-Cold War period, characterized by the growing re cognition on the part of the major regional powers that there is a nee d for economic as well as military approaches to security and conflict avoidance. The chief manifestation of this trend is the emergence of the US Department of State's 'soft landing' and other engagement polic ies as attempts to resolve North Korean security threats. Some comment ators have seen the soft-landing policy as an opportunity for Japan to use its economic power to contribute to regional and international se curity. This article examines the evolution and rationale of the soft- landing policy, how Japanese policy-makers evaluate its potential as a solution to the North Korean security problem and the current extent of Japan's contribution to it. The article also points out the limitat ions of Japanese support for the soft landing due to international res trictions on the Japanese government's room for diplomatic manoeuvre, domestic political obstacles to engaging North Korea and the general l ack of Japanese private business interest in the North. Finally the co nclusion shows that, despite the recognition of the need to engage Nor th Korea economically, Japanese policy-makers have devoted their energ ies principally to the redefinition of the US-Japan military alliance based on the legitimacy of the North Korean threat.