Abstract
With a history of polar engagement, Japan takes a liberal position in the Arctic and tries to promote multilateral solutions. Japan’s official Arctic policy lists global environment, indigenous peoples, science and technology, the rule of law and international cooperation, sea routes, natural resources, and national security as areas of priority. This rather all-embracing Arctic policy is due to a policy-making process of an iron triangle composed of bureaucracy, politicians, and business groups, each of which hold varying interests. Japan regards the Arctic as a region too difficult to generate any financial benefits in the short term, but sufficiently important to continue planting flags to be used in the future; in doing so, science and technology, including scientific research, is considered as a useful tool.
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Tonami, A. (2016). Japan’s Arctic Policy. In: Asian Foreign Policy in a Changing Arctic. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53746-1_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53746-1_3
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