Purpose <p>This article examines the transformation of Japan’s security and foreign policy against the backdrop of China’s rise. It argues that Japan’s policy exhibits a paradoxical and complex posture that is “neither pure balancing nor absolute buck-passing,” and that mainstream international relations theories such as realism and liberalism face limitations in explaining Japan’s behavior. To overcome this impasse, the article introduces the Preference-for-Change model, advancing “soft revisionism” and the “domestic-international two-level game” as core analytical lenses, contending that Japan fundamentally seeks incremental adjustment within the existing order, rather than wholesale overturning.</p> Methods <p>The empirical analysis proceeds on two levels—international and domestic. Internationally, it focuses on China’s military rise and uncertainty surrounding U.S. security commitments, and domestically, it examines Japanese public attitudes toward constitutional revision and security policy, as well as the constructed perceptions of the “China threat.”</p> Results <p>The findings indicate that Japan’s security strategy is jointly shaped by multiple domestic and international factors, bearing pronounced features of soft revisionism, and is constrained both by domestic public opinion and structural dependence on the U.S.-Japan alliance.</p> Conclusion <p>Japan’s policy may continue to evolve with changes in the strategic environment based on the logic of soft revisionism, thus warranting sustained attention.</p>