This research paper examines the policy alternatives facing Japan as it seeks to redefine its national security policy in the post-cold war environment and analyzes the factors which have in the past and may in the future influence its direction. Since the end of World War II, Japan has become an economic superpower, but its physical security as a nation has been largely dependent on the protection of American military power. Recently, Japan has become more assertive in world affairs and has strengthened its own military capabilities. The domestic economic difficulties and political instability of the 1990s have led to a period of strategic indecision in Japan. The future direction of Japanese national security policy will be affected by a number of factors, the most important of which are Japanese traditions, Japan’s…