2009 Volume 15 Issue 2 Pages 197-209
Human security, both its theory and practice, has attracted a significant number of audiences. Japan is no exception. Nowadays the country is equipped with a powerful set of discourse about human-centred security. With these as a background, this paper aims to analyse the relationship between human security and the country’s central pursuer: academic-policy complex.
Because of its origin and development, human security itself is not a born-in-Japan concept. However, this paper will argue that it is still in a sense quite “Japanese”. Focusing on major progress both in the country’s intellectual and policy arenas, the paper will regard Japan as a good “assembly line” of human security discourse, where relevant elements have been collected, got together, and actualised as an efficient international policy. The key here is that there are some contributing factors. In particular, two of them are striking: (1) the effective application of social constructivism, policy-oriented theories of international law as well as policy science, and (2) the unique and intimate relationship between national government and academic institutions, under the country’s aspiration for “international contribution”. The paper will conclude although such close cooperation between academic and practical sectors has led to successful production of human security discourse, it also have deficiencies, and therefore needs serious reconsideration.
