HISTORY AND HIERARCHY THE FOREIGN POLICY EVOLUTION OF MODERN JAPAN Matthew P. Funaiole A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2014 Full metadata for this item is available in Research@StAndrews:FullText at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/5843 This item is protected by original copyright This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence History and Hierarchy The Foreign Policy Evolution of Modern Japan This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Saint Andrews by Matthew P. Funaiole 27 October 2014 Word Count: 79,419 iii Abstract This thesis examines the foreign policy evolution of Japan from the time of its modernization during the mid-nineteenth century though the present. It is argued that infringements upon Japanese sovereignty and geopolitical vulnerabilities have conditioned Japanese leaders towards power seeking policy obJectives. The core variables of statehood, namely power and sovereignty, and the perception of state elites are traced over this broad time period to provide a historical foundation for framing contemporary analyses of Japanese foreign policy. To facilitate this research, a unique framework that accounts for both the foreign policy preferences of Japanese leaders and the external constraints of the international system is developed. Neoclassical realist understandings of self-help and relative power distributions form the basis of the presented analysis, while constructivism offers crucial insights into ideational factors that influence state elites. Social Identity Theory, a social psychology theory that examines group behavior, is integrated to conceptualize the available policy options. Surveying Japanese foreign policy through this framework clarifies the seemingly irreconcilable shifts in Japan’s foreign policy history and clearly delineates between political groups that embody distinct policy strategies and norms. Consequently, the main contribution of this thesis lies in the development of a theoretical framework that is uniquely positioned to identify historical trends in foreign policy. Owing to the numerous shifts in modern Japan’s foreign policy history, this research identifies and examines three distinguishable Japanese “states”: MeiJi Japan (1868 - 1912), Imperial Japan (1912 - 1945), and postwar Japan (1945 - present). iv Acknowledgements The last several years of my life have been dedicated to the research found within these pages. While it has often felt like an individual effort, the process of crafting this thesis not only tested me but those around me. I am forever grateful for the support offered by my colleagues, friends, and family during this Journey. I would like to call attention to a few individuals in particular: My advisor, Dr. Christopher Ogden. Thank you for your expert guidance and for always challenging me to improve my work. Thank you even more for supporting my proJect, even when you were not yet my advisor. You have been an exceptional advisor, and I have been fortunate to drawn upon your wisdom. My partner, Catherine. Your love and support has been a source of constant inspiration. I can not thank you enough for your patience and compassion, especially when my frustration made our lives a little less than perfect. I would also like to formally thank you for the seemingly endless stream of coffees that gave me the strength to face each morning. My sister, Angela. Without you my work would read like it was written by a scatterbrained undergraduate. I cannot thank you enough for the countless upon countless edits you have provided. Your support has been tremendous. The many friends I made living in St. Andrews, Edinburgh and Cambridge. All of you have played a part in helping bring this weighty tome to life. Thank you Chris for keeping me grounded in pursuits other than research, thank you Simon for putting up with my less than appropriate office behavior, grazie to the rest of the original Room 13 crew, and thank you Clara for all the fun we had on the commute into St. Andrews. A special thanks to Bethesda and Dexter for providing me with a source of constant amusement. To anyone else I may have forgotten, thank you! v Table of Contents Abstract iii Acknowledgements iv Table of Contents v List of Tables and Charts vii List of Abbreviations ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1 : Interpretations of Japan’s International Relations 9 1.1 Neoclassical Realism and Power Dynamics .................................................................................11 1.2 Great Power Politics: Realist Interpretations of Japan ..............................................................16 1.3 Ideological Factors and Constructivism .....................................................................................23 1.4 Ideational Considerations: Constructivist Interpretations of Japan ........................................28 1.5 Historical Context ........................................................................................................................32 1.6 Summarizing Existing Theories and Research Gaps .................................................................36 Chapter 2 : Framing Japanese Foreign Policy 37 2.1 Neoclassical Realism and Identity ..............................................................................................39 2.2 Social Identity Theory (SIT) .......................................................................................................44 2.3 Integrating SIT within International Relations .........................................................................49 2.4 Theory in Use ..............................................................................................................................54 2.5 Framework in Review ..................................................................................................................61 Chapter 3 : The Unraveling of Sakoku, 1804 - 1868 63 3.1 Tokugawa Peace and Isolation (1633 - 1804) ..............................................................................66 3.2 Seas of Change (1804 - 1854) .......................................................................................................68 3.3 Domestic Reaction and the Harris Treaty (1854 - 1858) ...........................................................80 3.4 Sonnō Jōi (1858 - 1864) ................................................................................................................84 3.5 From Bakufu to Boshin (1865 - 1868) .........................................................................................89 3.6 The End of Tokugawa Japan 92 vi Chapter 4 : The Emergence of Modern Japan, 1868 - 1895 95 4.1 The World Japan Entered ...........................................................................................................98 4.2 Japan’s Turn to the West (1861 - 1890) .....................................................................................103 4.3 Japanification (1890 - 1904) ........................................................................................................110 4.4 MeiJi Foreign Policy (1868 - 1895) .............................................................................................118 4.5 The Burgeoning Regional Power ..............................................................................................128 Chapter 5 : Great Power Politics and Japan, 1895 - 1931 131 5.1 The Russo-Japanese War (1904 - 1905) .....................................................................................134 5.2 Directions in Foreign Policy (1905 - 1911) .................................................................................147 5.3 The First World War (1914 - 1918) .............................................................................................153 5.4 The Versailles-Washington System .........................................................................................156 5.5 Japan in Flux ...............................................................................................................................164 Chapter 6 : New Directions in Foreign Policy, 1931 - 1972 166 6.1 The Mukden Incident of 1931 ....................................................................................................169 6.2 Fifteen Years of War (1931 - 1945) .............................................................................................178 6.3 The Occupation Years (1945 - 1952) .........................................................................................183 6.4 The Postwar Foreign Policy Strategy (1952 - 1972) ..................................................................190 6.5 One Step the Right, Two to the Left .......................................................................................198 Chapter 7 : A Resurgent Japan, 1972 - 2014 201 7.1 Late Cold War Political Challenges (1973 - 1982) ....................................................................204 7.2 Nakasone Questions the Yoshida Doctrine (1982 - 1987) ......................................................209 7.3 The Post-Cold War Challenge (1989 - 1992) ............................................................................213 7.4 The Lost Decade (1990 - 2000) .................................................................................................218 7.5 The Rise of Koizumi (2001 - 2006)