序説 日米安保体制-持続と変容-

日米安保体制-持続と変容

抄録

As the title shows, this volume is dedicated to the study of the US-Japan Security System with emphasis on both aspects of continuity and change. Although the system was a product of history it has also been a major driving force of history in the post-war period. It is in the mixture of continuity and change that the system has survived the challenge of history.
In general, the system is often understood as a byproduct of the Cold War headed by the US and the then USSR. Indeed, the system cannot be discussed without reference to the Cold War. The US-Japan Mutual Security Treaty which serves as the core of the system was signed in September 1951 as a corner stone in the US strategy of deterrence against the USSR. Nevertheless, the system in reality is more complicated than just being a byproduct of the Cold War. It is in essence a political community—a relationship that exceeds the legal stipulations of the treaty. Otherwise the system would have collapsed with the end of the Cold War. The treaty originally signed by Shigeru Yoshida in 1951 and revised by Nobusuke Kishi in 1960 has brought sbout the system that functions far beyond the original terms. The latest “Redefinition, ” reflecting the reality of US-Japan power relationship is also a product of the system.
This volume is an attempt to examine the US-Japan Security System with emphasis on its aspects of continuity and change from theoretical, historical and empirical perspectives. It contains two groups of articles. The first group consists of six articles—(that of Sakamoto, Uemura, Gabe, Hirayama, Kan, and Kojo), with emphasis on historical observations and analyses. The second group consists of four articles—(that of Iwata, Muroyama, Kamiya, and Tsuchiyama), with emphasis on theoretical arguments and with predictions for the future. Hopefully these two groups of articles will serve as the two main pillars in our understanding of various aspects of the US-Japan Security System.