While the US-Japan alliance has strengthened since the end of the Cold War Japan has, almost unnoticed, been building security ties with other partners, in the process reducing the centrality of the US in Japan's security; this book explains why this is happening.

Paul Midford is Professor and Director of the Japan Program at the Norwegian University for Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim.

Wilhelm Vosse is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the International Christian University (ICU) in Tokyo, Japan.

1. Introduction 2. Decentering and Recentering in Security Strategy Part I. Non-American Directions in Defense Policy 3. Centered on the fight within: the inward-looking nature of the Japanese debate on constitutional reinterpretation with a diluted US focus 4. Lifting the ban on Defense Industrial Production Cooperation with Non-US Partners Part II. Diversifying Security Partners 5. Japan's 'special' strategic partnership with Australia: 'Decentering' underwrites 're-centering' 6. Japan's policy toward India since 2000 and US leadership in East Asia 7. Japan's security cooperation with the Philippines and Vietnam Part III. Japan's Focus on Multilateral Security Cooperation 8. From a Decentering and Recentering Imperative: Japan's Approach to Asian Security Multilateralism 9. Is Japan's Engagement in Counter-Piracy Missions a Step Towards Decentering of Its Security Policy? 10. Japan's Cooperation with the EU in the Nexus of Development and Security 11. Evolution of Japan's Non-US Centric Security Strategy and European Influences on Japan's Peace-Building Policy Part IV. Reflections on Japan's Non-American Focused Initiatives 12. The Continued Centrality of the United States to Japan's Security Doctrine in an Era of Expanding Security Partnerships 13. Non-US Directions in Japan's Security Strategy: A Chinese View 14. Conclusions