In an essay published in the latest issue of Foreign Affairs, due to hit newsstands Aug. 24, writers Eric Heginbotham and Richard Samuels describe Japan's stance as a continuation of its doctrine of ''double hedging.''

''On the one hand, Japan has relied on its alliance with the United States as a hedge against threats. On the other hand, Japan has cultivated different partners -- including some the United States identifies as present or potential security threats -- to hedge against economic dangers,'' according to the essay titled, ''Japan's Dual Hedge.''

Even if Tokyo undertakes additional symbolic military measures in the future to meet U.S. expectations, ''it is unlikely to be any more supportive of active military cooperation with the United States either globally or in East Asia on issues beyond its own defense.''

''The reasons are strategic -- Japan's leaders are neither doves nor hawks but pragmatists, for whom economic and military security are equally important,'' the essay said.

Despite Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's swift decisions to support the U.S. with dispatch of its naval units to the Indian Ocean for logistical support, Japan still turned out to undertake ''minimum commitments'' militarily, unlike Germany and Italy, it said.

Germany and Italy, according to the article, are countries that also have constitutional constraints similar to Japan's but ''acted more boldly.''

The article also said Japan tried to ''show the flag'' to serve its national interests while at the same time, refrained from ''high-profile military action so as to reassure Middle Eastern oil exporters and other trading partners.''

Heginbotham is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Samuels is a director at Center for International Studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.