Page "Foreign relations of Japan" Paragraph 2

During the Cold War, Japanese foreign policy was not self-assertive, relatively focused on their economic growth.

However, the end of the Cold War and bitter lessons from the Gulf War changed the policy slowly.

Japanese government decided to participate in the Peacekeeping operations by the UN, and sent their troops to Cambodia, Mozambique, Golan Heights and the East Timor in the 1990s and 2000s.

After the September 11 attacks, Japanese naval vessels have been assigned to resupply duties in the Indian Ocean to the present date.

The Ground Self-Defense Force also dispatched their troops to Southern Iraq for the restoration of basic infrastructures.