DOCSLIB.ORG

Japan's New Foreign Policy Toward North Korea and the Imposition of Unilateral Sanction in 2006

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Japan's New Foreign Policy Toward North Korea and the Imposition of Unilateral Sanction in 2006 Missiles, Abductions, and Sanctions: Societal Influences on Japanese Policy Toward North Korea, 1998-2006 by Seung Hyok Lee A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Political Science University of Toronto © Copyright by Seung Hyok Lee (2011) Missiles, Abductions, and Sanctions: Societal Influences on Japanese Policy Toward North Korea, 1998-2006 Seung Hyok Lee Doctor of Philosophy Department of Political Science University of Toronto 2011 0Abstract North Korea twice conducted ballistic missile tests close to Japan in 1998 and 2006. While Japan responded with non-coercive condemnations to demonstrate its disapproval in 1998, it imposed unilateral economic sanctions in 2006, marking the first instance in post-World War II of applying a substantial coercion to punish a neighbouring state. The research asks why Japanese policy toward the North shifted for a seemingly identical type of provocation. The dissertation seeks contextual explanations by using inductive process-tracing, a type of ‘middle approach’ between historical narratives and parsimonious theories. It is applied to highlight the underlying mechanism through which public discursive changes concerning national security and North Korea during this eight-year period influenced the subsequent policy shift in 2006. ii The dissertation concludes that the unilateral sanctions were not necessarily a calculated strategic response to punish the missile launch (or North Korean nuclear programs) per se, but were a direct consequence of a deeper shift in societal discourse taking place beforehand. During the eight-year period, there had been other visible provocations and shocks originating from the North, especially the sensational revelation in 2002 of past North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens. These highly-publicized incidents facilitated the Japanese public to be increasingly conscious about Japan’s security weaknesses and re-evaluate its historical relations with its neighbour, leading to a hardened domestic environment in which the new idea of pressuring the North became a feasible option even before 2006. These North Korean provocations and the resulting societal security discourse, along with concurrent structural changes in the Japanese government and mass media which made them both highly susceptible to discursive currents among citizens, mutually interacted to produce the policy result when the opportunity arose. The research, however, also challenges the popular view that the sanctions are the first example of the wholesale transformation of Japan’s post-war ‘pacifist’ security principles. It argues that the confined means (economic) by which the sanctions were imposed reflects the highly nuanced discourse, which endorses Japan’s legitimate right to specifically punish the North for the harms done, but that the societal momentum is not equally supportive of the more controversial areas concerning military usage and the current constitution. iii 1Acknowledgements I first became interested in Japanese foreign policy toward North Korea while in Japan (2000–2005). As a graduate student at the Department of Politics and Economics, Waseda University, I wrote an English working paper on the topic (which, after re- reading it recently, led me to believe that I have made progress since then); but I certainly did not expect that this initial interest would bear fruit in the form of a doctoral dissertation. I would like to thank my former supervisor at Waseda University, Yamamoto Takehiko sensei, for believing in me as a scholar and patiently persuading me to stay in the academy when I was tempted by prospects of financial stability. Now that I look back, I see that my final months at Waseda University helped me to embrace my destiny as a scholar, as an understanding friend of Japan, but also an honest critic when the need arises. In writing and finishing this dissertation, I am, of course, most indebted to Professor David A. Welch, and I doubt that I will ever be able to fully repay everything I owe him. Not only was he the most supportive, reliable, and efficient supervisor a doctoral student could hope for, as a friend he genuinely helped me up on my feet during some of my most trying times. I am also deeply grateful to my committee member Professor Michael Donnelly for his generous guidance and for his wisdom, shaped by long experience supervising East Asian students pursuing graduate degrees in North America. Our numerous talks in his office, and his willingness to share his fascinating iv personal experiences in Japan over the years, helped me to significantly broaden my views. My very special gratitude goes to Tadokoro Masayuki sensei of the Faculty of Law, Keio University. I cannot adequately express my appreciation to the support he has given me over the past four years as a committee member, in both public and private settings. My work would certainly have been less nuanced without his deep local knowledge and generous feedback. Every single moment I interacted with Tadokoro sensei while I co-taught a course with Professor Welch at Keio University for a semester during the 2008-2009 school year had an impact on my view of Japanese foreign policy, Japanese domestic politics, Korea-Japan relations, and the regional history of East Asia. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to my internal and the external readers—Professor John Kirton of the University of Toronto and Professor Kawasaki Tsuyoshi of Simon Fraser University—for their thorough and encouraging comments. I also thank Amy Goertz for her dedicated English proofreading of my final draft. I would like to thank all my interviewees—in alphabetical order, Iokibe Makoto sensei of The National Defence Academy of Japan, Kitaoka Shinichi sensei of The University of Tokyo, Michishita Narushige sensei of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Tokyo, Okonogi Masao sensei of Keio University, Tanaka Hitoshi sensei of the Japan Center for International Exchange, and Wakamiya Yoshibumi sensei of Asahi Shimbun—for generously agreeing to share their thoughts and allowing me to quote them openly. Soeya Yoshihide sensei of Keio University offered assistance in arranging some of my interviews, and I will never forget his kindness. v Numerous Keio friends—especially Shiratori Junichirō and Gōroku Tsuyoshi of Tadokoro sensei’s graduate seminar—made my stay at their university pleasant and enjoyable. At Waseda, I had of course developed a certain image of Keio students. While I still embrace my Waseda identity, my Keio friends have surely disabused me of old stereotypes! I have been privileged to be supported by various foundations during my academic endeavour. First, I am grateful to the Kashiyama Scholarship Foundation of Onward Corporation for supporting me during the last year of my residence in Japan as a Waseda student. Without its generous grant, it would not have been possible for me to dedicate my time to applying for the doctoral programme in Canada in the first place. Second, I am very indebted to the Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial Foundation, and in particular to the president, Shibusawa Masahide sensei, and to the research director, Kimura Masato sensei, for kindly agreeing to host me and help make my stay at Keio University truly a comfortable experience. Finally, this dissertation would have taken much longer to finish without the generous research grant provided by The Konosuke Matsushita Memorial Foundation, which, by freeing me of other burdens, enabled me to spend my final year on writing. I deeply appreciate Jaemin Louise Kim for praying for me despite everything that has happened, and Moto and Eri-san for being true friends during one of the most trying times of my life. And I would like to thank Marcus Aurelius and Seneca—or at least what they wrote some time ago—for teaching me what does and does not matter in one’s life. vi But my highest gratitude, of course, for letting me be here the way I am goes to my parents, my sister, and my canine sister: Sangkyu Lee, Chongnam Suh, Kyuhey August, and Kamja. Not least, I thank God for having given me the courage to take a difficult path vii 2Table of Contents Abstract.............................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ...........................................................................................................viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.................................................................................... 1 1 Empirical Case for the Analysis ..................................................................1 2 Significance of the Research Question ........................................................5 3 Theoretical Contribution of the Research....................................................9 4 Process-Tracing as a Methodological “Middle Ground”...........................11 5 Overview of the Chapters ..........................................................................13 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................... 18 1 Categorization 1: Fundamental Change or Continuity?.............................20 1.1 Literature emphasizing change.......................................................... 21 1.2 Literature emphasizing continuity (despite
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Sunshine in Korea
    CENTER FOR ASIA PACIFIC POLICY International Programs at RAND CHILDREN AND FAMILIES The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that EDUCATION AND THE ARTS helps improve policy and decisionmaking through ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT research and analysis. HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE This electronic document was made available from INFRASTRUCTURE AND www.rand.org as a public service of the RAND TRANSPORTATION Corporation. INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS LAW AND BUSINESS NATIONAL SECURITY Skip all front matter: Jump to Page 16 POPULATION AND AGING PUBLIC SAFETY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Support RAND Purchase this document TERRORISM AND HOMELAND SECURITY Browse Reports & Bookstore Make a charitable contribution For More Information Visit RAND at www.rand.org Explore the RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy View document details Limited Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law as indicated in a notice appearing later in this work. This electronic representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for non-commercial use only. Unauthorized posting of RAND electronic documents to a non-RAND website is prohibited. RAND electronic documents are protected under copyright law. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please see RAND Permissions. The monograph/report was a product of the RAND Corporation from 1993 to 2003. RAND monograph/reports presented major research findings that addressed the challenges facing the public and private sectors. They included executive summaries, technical documentation, and synthesis pieces. Sunshine in Korea The South Korean Debate over Policies Toward North Korea Norman D.
    [Show full text]
  • Surface Current Field in Front of the Venetian Lagoon V
    Journal of Marine Systems 51 (2004) 95–122 www.elsevier.com/locate/jmarsys HF radar observations in the northern Adriatic: surface current field in front of the Venetian Lagoon V. Kovacˇevic´a,*, M. Gacˇic´a, I. Mancero Mosquerab,1, A. Mazzoldic, S. Marinettid aIstituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale (OGS), Borgo Grotta Gigante 42/c, 34010 Sgonico, Trieste, Italy bEscuela Superior Polite´cnica del Litoral, Guayaquil, Ecuador cC.N.R.-Istituto di Scienze Marine, Sezione di Ricerca di Venezia, Italy dC.N.R.-Istituto per le Tecnologie della Costruzione-Sezione di Padova, Italy Received 15 December 2002; accepted 19 May 2004 Available online 19 August 2004 Abstract Two HF radar stations looking seaward were installed along the littoral of the Venetian Lagoon (Northern Adriatic). They operated continuously for 1 year (November 2001–October 2002). The surface current data are obtained at a spatial resolution of about 750 m and are available every hour in a zone whose depths slope gently from the coast down to 20 m. The total area covered is about 120 km2 reaching cca 15 km offshore. These observations give evidence of the different temporal and spatial scales that characterize the current field. Unlike for the flow in inlets of the Venetian Lagoon, the tidal forcing accounts for only up to 20% of the total variability. The tidal influence from the inlets is felt to about 4–5 km away. Low-frequency signal, associated prevalently to meteorological forcing (through the action of winds and atmospheric pressure) at synoptic time scales, is superimposed on a mean southward flow of 10 cm/s.
    [Show full text]
  • The Japanese Abduction Issue and North Korea's
    UNISCI Discussion Papers ISSN: 1696-2206 [email protected] Universidad Complutense de Madrid España DiFilippo, Anthony STILL AT ODDS: THE JAPANESE ABDUCTION ISSUE AND NORTH KOREA’S CIRCUMVENTION UNISCI Discussion Papers, núm. 32, mayo, 2013, pp. 137-170 Universidad Complutense de Madrid Madrid, España Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=76727454007 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative UNISCI Discussion Papers, Nº 32 (Mayo / May 2013) ISSN 1696-2206 STILL AT ODDS: THE JAPANESE ABDUCTION ISSUE AND NORTH KOREA’S CIRCUMVENTION Anthony DiFilippo 1 Lincoln University Abstract: During the 1970s and 1980s, North Korea, or as it is known officially, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), abducted a number of Japanese citizens. Especially after the late Kim Jong Il admitted to former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in September 2002 that agents from the DPRK had kidnapped some Japanese nationals during the Cold War, the abduction issue, which remains unresolved, became highly politicized in Japan. Pyongyang, however, has continued to maintain for some time now that the abduction issue was settled several years ago, while also insisting that Japan must make amends to the DPRK for its past colonization of the Korean Peninsula. For its part, Tokyo has remained adamant about the need to resolve the abduction issue, repeatedly stressing that it is one of the few major problems preventing the normalization of Japan-North Korea relations.
    [Show full text]
  • 2019 Undergraduate/Graduate Schools Academic Affairs Handbook
    2019 Undergraduate/Graduate Schools Academic Affairs Handbook Center for Academic Affairs Bureau of Academic Affairs, Sophia University When the Public Transportation is shutdown When the university decides that is it not possible to hold regular classes or final exams due to the shutdown of transport services caused by natural disasters such as typhoons, heavy rainfall, accidents or strikes, classes may be canceled and exams rescheduled to another day. Such cancellation and changes will be announced on the university’s official website, Loyola, official Facebook, or Twitter. Offices Related to Academic Affairs The phone numbers listed are extension numbers. Dial 03-3238-刊刊刊刊 (extension number) when calling from an external line. Office Main work handled Location Ext. Affairs related to classes, class cancellations, make-up 1st floor, Bldg. 2 3515 Center for classes, examinations, grading, etc. Academic Affairs Teacher's Lounge 2nd floor, Bldg. 2 3164 Office of Mejiro Mejiro Seibo Campus, 6151 Regarding Mejiro Seibo Campus Seibo Campus 1st floor,Bldg.1 03-3950-6151 Center for Teaching and Affairs related to subjects for the teaching license course and 2nd floor, Bldg. 2 3520 Curator curator license course Credentials Affairs related to loaning of equipment and articles, lost and Office of found, application for use of meeting rooms, etc. 1st floor, Bldg. 2 3112 Property Management of Supply Room (Service hours 8:15䡚19:40) Supply Room Service hours 8:15䡚17:50 1st floor, Bldg. 11 4195 ICT Office Use of COM/CALL rooms, SI room and consultation related 3rd floor, Bldg. 2 3101 (Media Center) to the use of computers Reading and loaning 3510 Library Academic information (Reserve book system) 1st floor, Bldg.
    [Show full text]
  • Nationalism in Japan's Contemporary Foreign Policy
    The London School of Economics and Political Science Nationalism in Japan’s Contemporary Foreign Policy: A Consideration of the Cases of China, North Korea, and India Maiko Kuroki A thesis submitted to the Department of International Relations of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, February 2013 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of <88,7630> words. Statement of use of third party for editorial help I can confirm that my thesis was copy edited for conventions of language, spelling and grammar by Josh Collins and Greg Demmons. 2 of 3 Abstract Under the Koizumi and Abe administrations, the deterioration of the Japan-China relationship and growing tension between Japan and North Korea were often interpreted as being caused by the rise of nationalism. This thesis aims to explore this question by looking at Japan’s foreign policy in the region and uncovering how political actors manipulated the concept of nationalism in foreign policy discourse.
    [Show full text]
  • The Union of National Economic Associations in Japan
    No.5 1シ 入｀しECS ゜ル 人。 ° Information Bulletin of マ、 象 之 Jo p,..ssoThe Union of National ゑ 〇／ c ち ゞヽ Economic Associations 心 匁 1 ‘ in Japan 日本経済学会連合 1985 INFORMATION BULLETIN OF THE UNION OF NATIONAL ECONOMIC ASSOCIATIONS IN JAPAN This Information Bulletin is designed to serve as an introduction of the academic activities of member associations of the Union to the economic societies throughout the world. The copies will be distributed by the secretariat of the Union to economists and societies in other countries whose names have been given by the member associations of the Union. Managing Editors Masatoshi Hayashi, Yokohama Municipal University lkujiro Nonaka, Hitotsubashi University Yasuo Kawashima, Meiji Gakuin University Kiyoshi Okamoto, Hitotsubashi University Tsuneo Nakauchi, International Christian University Yoshio Okuda, Chuo University Shizuya Nishimura, Hosei University Haruo Shimada, Keio University Hisanori Nishiyama, Meiji University Shinya Sugiyama, Keio University Editional Committee Fumimasa Hamada, Keio University Yoshinori Suzuki, Kanagawa University Makoto lkema, Hitotsubashi University Soko Tajima, Hitotsubashi University Hisanobu Kato, Asia College Hideo Tamura, Chuo University Masami Kita, Soka University Shigeru Tanase, Hitotsubashi University Shoji Nedachi, Nihon University Koichi Tanoue hi, Hitotsubasho University Kazuo Nimura, Hosei University Junko Nishikawa, Tokyo Metroporitan College of Commerce Directors of the Union President Susumu TAKAMIYA, Sophia University Secretary General Takashi SHIRAISHI, Keio University
    [Show full text]
  • Shiseido CSR Website 2015
    Shiseido's Corporate Social Responsibility Back Issues 2015 Shiseido CSR [Shiseido’s Corporate Social Responsibility] Although the target period for the information included in this back number is mainly FY2014 (from April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015 ), part of the information also includes contents prior to/after the said period. [CONTENTS] ○ What is Shiseido CSR? ··························································································· 1 ○ Top Commitment ························································································ ·········· 10 ○ Beauty ································································· ······························· 12 ● ················································ 12 ● ··········································································· 17 ● ······················································································ 19 ○ Environment ········································································································· 20 ●Environmental policy ························································································ 20 ●Environmental management ·············································································· 23 ●Responding to Environmental Risks ···································································· 24 ●Environmental targets and results ····································································· 26 ●Product initiatives ····················································································
    [Show full text]
  • A Thesis Entitled Yoshimoto Taka'aki, Communal Illusion, and The
    A Thesis entitled Yoshimoto Taka’aki, Communal Illusion, and the Japanese New Left by Manuel Yang Submitted as partial fulfillment for requirements for The Master of Arts Degree in History ________________________ Adviser: Dr. William D. Hoover ________________________ Adviser: Dr. Peter Linebaugh ________________________ Dr. Alfred Cave ________________________ Graduate School The University of Toledo (July 2005) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It is customary in a note of acknowledgments to make the usual mea culpa concerning the impossibility of enumerating all the people to whom the author has incurred a debt in writing his or her work, but, in my case, this is far truer than I can ever say. This note is, therefore, a necessarily abbreviated one and I ask for a small jubilee, cancellation of all debts, from those that I fail to mention here due to lack of space and invidiously ungrateful forgetfulness. Prof. Peter Linebaugh, sage of the trans-Atlantic commons, who, as peerless mentor and comrade, kept me on the straight and narrow with infinite "grandmotherly kindness" when my temptation was always to break the keisaku and wander off into apostate digressions; conversations with him never failed to recharge the fiery voltage of necessity and desire of historical imagination in my thinking. The generously patient and supportive free rein that Prof. William D. Hoover, the co-chair of my thesis committee, gave me in exploring subjects and interests of my liking at my own preferred pace were nothing short of an ideal that all academic apprentices would find exceedingly enviable; his meticulous comments have time and again mercifully saved me from committing a number of elementary factual and stylistic errors.
    [Show full text]
  • An Analysis of the Manchurian Incident and Pan
    Imperial Japan and English Language Press: An Analysis of the Manchurian Incident and Pan-Asianism By Garrett Weeden A thesis submitted to the Graduate School School-Newark Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Arts Graduate Program in World Comparative History Written under the direction of Daniel Asen And approved by _______________________ _______________________ _______________________ _______________________ Newark, New Jersey January 2017 Copyright Page: © 2017 Garrett Weeden ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Abstract of the Thesis Imperial Japan and English Language Press: An Analysis of the Manchurian Incident and Pan-Asianism By Garrett Weeden Thesis Director: Daniel Asen Abstract This thesis seeks to use English language publications to help shine a light on Pan-Asianism as an ideology in regards to Manchuria and the Empire as a whole. The Japanese Empire was a transnational one and one that existed during a time of increasing internationalism. In the field there has not been as much attention to the role that Pan-Asianism has played in the foreign relations of Japan. I will study this by using English language Pan-Asianist texts as well as Japanese governmental and semi- governmental publication cross-referenced with United States Department of State archive to see the effect of such texts on the ideology. The effect was usually negligible, but the reasons and avenue that it was pursued may be even more important and interesting. The focus is on the time period from 1931 until 1934 because that it when the massive changes occurred in Japan within a rapidly changing international environment.
    [Show full text]
  • The United States and Japan in Global Context: 2015
    THE EDWIN O. REISCHAUER CENTER FOR EAST ASIAN STUDIES THE UNITED STATES AND JAPAN IN GLOBAL CONTEXT: 2015 THE PAUL H. NITZE SCHOOL OF ADVANCED INTERNATIONAL STUDIES THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY Washington, D.C. Edwin O. Reischauer October 15, 1910 – September 1, 1990 Yearbook Class of 2015 From Left to Right: Sung Hui “Sophie” Yang, Jeffrey Bond, Ju Hyung Kim, Luoxi Dao, Ji Won Kwon, Malcolm Whitehead, Michael Wakcher, Professor William Brooks, Evan Sankey, Benjamin Garton, Ian Hamilton, Michael Kotler, Waichiro Katsuda, Yiwei “Jenny” Pan TABLE OF CONTENTS The Year at the Reischauer Center 1 Reischauer Center Events, 2014-2015 7 Introduction 10 William L. Brooks For U.S.-Japan Relations, the JET Program Is a Hidden National Treasure 46 Malcolm Whitehead U.S.-Japan Cultural Exchange in a New Era of Public Diplomacy 73 Michael Wakcher New U.S.-Japan Partnership in Disaster Management and Japan’s Role 95 Waichiro Katsuda India and the US-Japan Alliance 113 Evan Sankey Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Central Asia Strategy: Is it Effective? 129 Ian Hamilton Trilateral security cooperation in Northeast Asia 157 Ju Hyong Kim Japan’s Trade Agreement Strategies: Three Case Studies 172 Ji Won Kwon Changing Trade Patterns among the U.S., Japan and China: Does Politics Trump Market Forces? 205 Jenny Iwei Pan Impact of “Abenomics” on Mergers and Acquisition Trends in Japan 222 Luoxi Dao Japan’s Long Road to Corporate Governance Reform 240 Ben Garton Building Japan’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem 258 Jeff Bond Class Research Trip to Tokyo, March 2014: Photo Album 281 1 THE YEAR AT THE REISCHAUER CENTER The 2014-2015 academic year, during which the Reischauer Center celebrated its thirtieth anniversary, was a historic one--for the Center, SAIS, and for trans-Pacific relations.
    [Show full text]
  • Official Journal L 60 of the European Union
    Official Journal L 60 of the European Union ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Volume 59 English edition Legislation 5 March 2016 Contents II Non-legislative acts REGULATIONS ★ Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/311 of 4 March 2016 implementing Regulation (EU) No 208/2014 concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons, entities and bodies in view of the situation in Ukraine .................................................................... 1 ★ Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/312 of 4 March 2016 correcting Regulation (EU) No 37/2010 as regards the substance ‘tylvalosin’ (1) ....................................................... 3 ★ Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/313 of 1 March 2016 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) No 680/2014 with regard to additional monitoring metrics for liquidity reporting (1) ....................................................................................................... 5 ★ Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/314 of 4 March 2016 amending Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on cosmetic products (1) 59 ★ Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/315 of 4 March 2016 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 329/2007 concerning restrictive measures against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ........................................................................................................... 62 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/316 of 4 March 2016 establishing the standard import values for determining
    [Show full text]
  • Taiwan in Japan's Security Considerations Soeya Yoshihide
    Taiwan in Japan’s Security Considerations Soeya Yoshihide During the Cold War period, particularly after the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, Japan’s political and security relations with the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan had to cope with the realities of “two Chinas,” with the history of the Japanese colonization of Taiwan and its military aggression in China compelling post-war Japan to assume basi- cally “non-strategic” security orientation. The fundamental argument in this article is that Japan’s de facto “two Chinas” policy throughout much of the post-war period was not the result of careful consideration of its security priorities, but was rather a choice by default. A serious problem in the post-war study of Japanese foreign policy in general is often a result of over-estimating Japan’s “strategic” responses and over-reading its “strategic” thinking. This preoccupation with Japan as a strategic player is often revealed in the tendency to count it as one of the four major powers with the United States, Russia and China, but this has long been a fundamental source of confusion in the discourse and study about Japan. Here, “strategic” is used to refer to the nature of behaviour and thinking of powers which are capable and prepared to affect the structure of international politics as poles of the structure. Among the so-called four major powers, the United States, China and Russia have been such poles, but Japan was clearly not. This is why the fundamental premise of Japanese foreign and security policy has been the U.S.–Japan security relationship, and the robustness of the relationship, despite some recur- ring friction and political frustrations, is a testimony to the fact that Japan was not a comparable power to the United States, China and Russia.
    [Show full text]