近年來由於中國快速的崛起，無論是政治、經濟、軍事等各方面能力皆大大的提升，各國的關注進而帶動各國平衡中國崛起可能造成的威脅。本文嘗試以權力平衡觀點探討中國崛起的影響以及日本的因應作為。本文發現國際政治的本質是在無政府狀態下透過權力爭奪換取生存和絕對安全，在霸權出現時，權力平衡必然自動形成，以平衡新霸權可能對體系所造成的威脅。中國被視為具有威脅性的潛在霸權，並被設定為國際體系的挑戰者，故周邊國家積極提升經濟和軍事能力，採取權力平衡手段抗衡來自中國的挑戰。透過分析日本對中國崛起所採取的作為，不僅可以發現日本對中國採取硬性和柔性平衡等兩種手段，同時也可以發現權力平衡在不同時間和方面具有不同的意義。

Due to China’s rapid rise in recent years, its political, economic and military capabilities have greatly advanced, prompting other states to watch the situation carefully and balance the potential threat of China’s rise. This article attempts to discuss the influences of China’s rise and Japan’s corresponding response. This article finds that the essence of international politics is the fight over power in exchange for survival and absolute security in a state of anarchy. When a hegemon emerges, the balance of power automatically forms to balance the new power’s potential threat to the system. China is seen as a potential hegemonic threat and designated as a challenger to the international system, which has encouraged neighboring states to actively advance their economic and military capabilities and undertake balance of power to balance China’s challenge. Through an analysis of Japan’s actions against China rise, not only does one find that Japan applies both hard and soft balancing against China, one also finds that “balance of power” has different implications at different times and in different aspects.