Japan's Postwar Rearmament and Reactions of East Asian States / By
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
JAPAN'S POSTWAR REARMAMENT AND REACTIONS OF EAST ASIAN STATES Yukiko Jo B.A., Rikkyo University, 1977 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Political Science @ Yukiko Jo 1986 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY March 1986 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Yukiko Jo Degree: Master of Arts ~itleof thesis: Japan's Postwar Rearmament and Reactions of East Asian States Examining Committee: Chairman: Dr. Ted H. Cohn Dr. F. Quei Quo Senior Supervisor 3r. F. C. Langdon Professor Department of Political Science University of British Columbia Date Approved: Muck 21, Cg86. PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis, project or extended essay (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the i ibrary of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Title of Thesis/Project/Extended Essay Japan's Postwar Rearmament and Reactions of East Asian States. Author: Yukiko JO ( name April 14, ] 986 ( date 1 ABSTRACT The purpose of this thesis is to examine the changing reactions of eleven East Asian states to Japan's postwar rearmament from 1945 to 1984. Although Japan is still supposed to be a disarmed state under the 'no-war' provision of the constitution, Japan has expanded its military forces up to 250,000 personnel with the eighth largest annual military expenditure in the world. The recent trend has been towards accelerated military buildup with resurgent arrogance as an economic power. The military development of Japan has been of special concern to East Asian nations who had been invaded by the Japanese. This thesis endeavors to show a gap between a 'pacifist' image of Japan and the reality of Japan's accelerated military buildup. In addition, it discusses the differing views of the East Asian states towards Japan's increasing military power. L The thesis begins by analyzing Japan's postwar change from disarmament to rearmament as background information. It is observed that Japan's postwar military buildup was not a simple product of the external pressure but one of combined internal and external pressures: Japanese conservatives discreetly took advantage of US encouragement and used the Soviet threat for Japan's military recovery. The thesis goes on to examine East Asia's general and persistent suspicions concerning Japan's military power and the ideological split which has arisen iii between those countries approving Japan's military buildup because of their connections with the USA and those countries criticizing it because of their ties with the USSR. The thesis finds that most of the East Asian states shifted from criticism of Japan's rearmament to passive or ardent approval of it because of strategic considerations for their own security and because of Japan's overwhelming economic influence in the region. Without strong criticism of its military buildup from East Asia, Japan has recently shown a sign of becoming a military power commensurate with its economic power. This study also finds the existence of a serious gap between the East Asian people's image of Japan and the actions of their respective governments towards the resurgence of Japanese militarism. This will cause problems between Japan and its neighbors in the future. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to extend my deep gratitude to Professor F. Quei Quo, my thesis senior supervisor, who provided me with invaluable advice and discerning comments during all stages of this research. My sincere thanks are also due to another member of my supervisory committee, Professor A.H. Somjee. I extend special thanks to my external examiner, Professor F.C. Langdon, university of British Columbia. My special thanks are due to the Consulate General of Japan in Vancouver, which provided me with the recent Japanese government publications. A note of appreciation is also extended to the faculty, staff and fellow graduate students of the Political Science Department at Simon Fraser University for their support and encouragement. L Finally, I would like to thank the Asian Cultural Centre for Unesco (ACCU), because my interest in East Asia originated in my working experience at the ACCU. I also owe an everlasting debt to my parents who continued to give me moral support during my stay in Canada. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ................................................... iii ~istof Tables ........................................ x Notes on the Text ........................................ xi I. Introduction ............................................ 1 Subject and Purpose of Analysis ......................... 1 Scope of ~nalysisand Key Definitions ................... 3 Methodology ........................................ 9 Focus of ~xamination ................................... 10 Summary and Prospects .................................. 13 11. Japan's Postwar Rearmament, 1945-84: From Renunciation of Maintaining Armed Forces to Emergence of New Nationalism, Militarism ................................ 16 The First Period (1945-49): A Brief Period of Disarmed Japan ........................................ 17 The First US Occupation Policy: Strict Disarmament .. 19. The Second US Occupation Policy: Preparations for Rearmament ...................................... 20 The Second Period (1950-59): Rearmament and Political and Economic Take-off from the Occupation Period .... 22 Impacts of the Korean War and the US-Japan Security Treaty System ................................... 23 The Birth of the Self-Defense Forces ................ 27 Post-Occupation Economic Development and Military Recovery ......................................... 29 The Third Period (1960-71): The Revised US-Japan Security Treaty and Japan's Cooperation with US Belligerency in East Asia ........................... 31 The ~evisionof the US-Japan Security Treaty. 1960 .. 32 Military Policy in the 1960's ....................... 34 Military Buildup in Rapid Economic Development ...... 37 The Fourth Period (1971-77): Coping with the New Alignment in Asia and the US-USSR Dktente ........... 38 The Nixon Shocks .................................... 39 ~ormalizationof Relations with China ............... 40 Military Policy The Fifth Period (1978-84): Japan's Challenge Against the Superpowers and the Rise of New Nationalism. Militarism ......................................... 42 Increased Soviet Threat ............................. 43 Increased US Pressure on Japan's Military Buildup ... 46 ~reakingTaboos on Security Issues .................. 47 The Rise of New Nationalism and Militarism .......... 58 Prospects for the Revision of the Constitution ......... 60 Conclusion ............................................. 65 I11 . Attitudinal Change of East Asian States on Japan's Rearmament. 1945-1981: From Criticism to Endorsement ... 67 The First Stage: Victory and Determination to Bury Japanese ~ilitarism................................. 70 The San Francisco Peace Conference .................. 71 Communist Solidarity in Accusing Japan .............. 73 The Second Stage: Heightened East-West Confrontation and Division of East Asian Views on Japan's Rearmament ........................................ 76 Regional Instability ................................ 77 Japanese War Reparations ............................ 79 Chinese Severe Criticism ............................ 81 The Third Stage: Transition from Rigid Bipolarity to Tripolarity ......................................... 82 The Second Indochina War and Anti-Communist Cooperation ..................................... 83 Drastic Change of Chinese Views and Its Effects ..... 85 New Anti-Japanese Feeling: Tanaka Visit to the ASEAN States in 1974 .................................. 89 The Fourth Stage: The Liberation of Saigon and East Asian Adjustment to the New East-West Confrontation . 92 Vietnamese Adjustment ............................... 93 ASEAN Adjustment .................................... 95 Chinese Adjustment .................................. 97 Military Development in East Asia and Japan's Role .... 100 Japan's Role in Militarization of East Asia ........ 101 Military Development in East Asia .................. 104 Conclusion ............................................ 107 IV . Reactions of East Asian States on Japan's Recent Military Buildup. 1982-84: National Analysis .......... 109 Background and Outline of the Textbook Controversy in 1982 ........................................ 111 Group 1: The Korean Peninsula ......................... 117 Japan's Colonization of the Korean Peninsula ....... 118 South Korea ........................................ 120 North Korea ........................................ 126 Agreement and Disagreement in North Korean and South Korean Views on Japan .......................... 130 Group 2: China ........................................ 132 Japanese Aggression of China and the 1982 Textbook Controversy .................................... 133 The New Era of Sino-Japanese