ANALISIS KEPENTINGAN JEPANG DALAM PENINGKATAN HUBUNGAN KERJASAMA DENGAN NATO PADA TAHUN 2013-2023

The increasingly complex security challenges in East Asia encourage Japan to increase cooperation with NATO to protect its national security interests due to Japan's limitations in military defense. This study aims to determine the factors that influence Japan in increasing cooperation with NATO. This research uses a qualitative method, collecting data through government reports, journals, books, and other academic sources. Based on Neo-Classical Realism Theory, Japan's policy to increase cooperation with NATO can be studied through two factors, namely external factors and internal factors. The existence of threats from China's Military Modernization and North Korea's nuclear weapons development as well as Russia's military provocative actions in the Northern Region of Japan are external factors that encourage increased cooperation between Japan and NATO. Shinzo Abe views China, North Korea and Russia as serious threats to Japan, Abe makes Japan's strategic culture more proactive, allowing Japan to maintain its collective security. This condition becomes an internal factor that influences Japan's policy in increasing cooperation with NATO, as a strategic step to deal with external threats from China, North Korea and Russia.