Amer Japanese Relations

Examining the 160 year relationship between America and Japan, this cutting edge collection considers the evolution of the relationship of these two nations which straddle the Pacific, from the first encounters in the 19th century to major international shifts in a post 9/11 world. It examines the emergence of Japan in the wake of the 1905 Russo-Japanese War and the development of U.S. policies toward East Asia at the turn of the century. It goes on to study the impact of World War One in Asia, the Washington Treaty System, the issue of Immigration Issue and the deterioration of US-Japan relations in the 1930s as Japan invaded Manchuria. It also reflects on the Pacific War and the Occupation of Japan, and the country’s postwar Resurgence, democratization and economic recovery, as well as the maturing and the challenges facing the US Japan relationship as it progresses into the 21st century. This is a key read for those interested in the history of this important relationship as well as for scholars of diplomatic history and international relations.

From 1899 until the American entry into World War II, U.S. presidents sought to preserve China's territorial integrity in order to guarantee American businesses access to Chinese markets -- a policy famously known as the "open door." Before the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, Americans saw Japan as the open door's champion; but by the end of 1905, Tokyo had replaced St. Petersburg as its greatest threat. For the next thirty-six years, successive U.S. administrations worked to safeguard China and contain Japanese expansion on the mainland. The Currents of War reexamines the relationship between the United States and Japan and the casus belli in the Pacific through a fresh analysis of America's central foreign policy strategy in Asia. In this ambitious and compelling work, Sidney Pash offers a cautionary tale of oft-repeated mistakes and miscalculations. He demonstrates how continuous economic competition in the Asia-Pacific region heightened tensions between Japan and the United States for decades, eventually leading to the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Pash's study is the first full reassessment of pre--World War II American-Japanese diplomatic relations in nearly three decades. It examines not only the ways in which U.S. policies led to war in the Pacific but also how this conflict gave rise to later confrontations, particularly in Korea and Vietnam. Wide-ranging and meticulously researched, this book offers a new perspective on a significant international relationship and its enduring consequences.

September 2001 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the San Francisco Treaty, formally ending the Second World War. In signing this treaty, Japan fundamentally transformed its position on the world stage. It established itself in the vanguard of the burgeoning cold war bulwark against the Soviet Union and its communist satellites, and wed itself to the United States through economic, political, and security ties that persist today. The half century since the establishment of the San Francisco system has seen highs and lows in the relations between the two countries, continuing even into the current war on terrorism. This new book evaluates the changing relationship between the two great powers, providing in-depth analysis on a variety of topics. It scrutinizes the historical context, providing the reader with predictive tools for understanding events as they unfold. Instead of looking at the U.S.-Japan relationship one issue at a time, this book examines specific trends and then analyzes how these trends affect the relationship as a whole. This innovative approach allows the reader to view several perspectives simultaneously, and it compels the contributors to assemble clear causal arguments that detail what each factor can and cannot explain. The result is a cogent and convincing appraisal of the status and future of U.S.-Japan relations after fifty years of peaceful coexistence.

In this book, Aaron Forsberg presents an arresting account of Japan's postwar economic resurgence in a world polarized by the Cold War. His fresh interpretation highlights the many connections between Japan's economic revival and changes that occurred in the wider world during the 1950s. Drawing on a wealth of recently released American, British, and Japanese archival records, Forsberg demonstrates that American Cold War strategy and the U.S. commitment to liberal trade played a central role in promoting Japanese economic welfare and in forging the economic relationship between Japan and the United States. The price of economic opportunity and interdependence, however, was a strong undercurrent of mutual frustration, as patterns of conflict and compromise over trade, investment, and relations with China continued to characterize the postwar U.S.-Japanese relationship. Forsberg's emphasis on the dynamic interaction of Cold War strategy, the business environment, and Japanese development challenges "revisionist" interpretations of Japan's success. In exploring the complex origins of the U.S.-led international economy that has outlasted the Cold War, Forsberg refutes the claim that the U.S. government sacrificed American commercial interests in favor of its military partnership with Japan.

"This is clearly a time of significant transition in Japanese-American relations," Edwin O. Reischauer writes in his introduction to this timely and important book. "Are the prospects as alarming as some would argue, or is there more reason for hope?" In the penetrating essays that form this volume, the flashpoints for trouble are exposed so that we can understand the causes for the "great uneasiness" in American-Japanese relations:increasing economic rivalry, the emergence of a multipolar world, America's new interest in better relations with China and Russia, Japanese economic decline, and projected Japanese political instability.It would be easier to deal with these problems if American and Japanese cultural and political styles were similar. But they are not, and the resulting lack of communication and response is a serious handicap to solving mutual problems. In their diplomatic relations the Japanese try to avoid political confrontation and prefer to negotiate by indirection. Then, too, American images of Japan are skewed by layers of government and bureaucracy. Finally, Japanese consensus politics leads to immobility when Americans want action. The writers, in pointing out these differences, indicate how confusing all this is to U.S. policymakers. Despite these obstacles to friendship and understanding, a "cautious optimism" about the future pervades this book. The distinguished authors suggest a variety of ways to improve relations.Japan could and should take on more responsibility for Eastern stability and economic viability. In turn, the United States ought to recognize Japan as a major power with a large stake in Asia and to stress the complementarity of their economies.