The term 'comprehensive security' was first used by the late Japanese prime minister Ohira, but the concept as such can be traced back to Japanese thinking on security during the fifties. Its meaning goes far beyond requirements of military defence against a particular 'enemy', and stresses the need to take into account other aspects vital to national stability; food, energy, environment, communication and social security. While not denying the importance of military security, it explicitly encompasses a wide range of other aspects: the search for environmental security, for instance, which...