The Redefinition of the Security Treaty

Abstract

In the 1990s, the United States and Japan redefined the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States of America and Japan (hereafter referred to as the Security Treaty) to reinforce the alliance and further promote defense cooperation between the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) of Japan and United States forces. This paper examines the importance of the redefinition and its impact on Japan's defense policy. It concludes that Japan is now about to become "a normal state" that uses its SDF as a means of foreign policy.