Should Japan participate in UN peacekeeping operations?

With the end of the Cold War, the UN has increased the number of peacekeeping operations that it undertakes, and many voices call for Japan's participation. Hisako Shimura, a professor in the International Affairs Department at Tsuda College, analyzes Japan's new Peace Cooperation Law, its Constitution, and the traditional principles that govern UN peacekeeping operations. Shimura finds that Japan's law contains safeguards to ensure that Japan could participate in peacekeeping missions that uphold traditional UN principles, and she also suggests that such participation would be constitutional.