The Evolution Of The U S Japan Alliance 1951 2006

The US-Japan alliance has contributed significantly towards the development of the Japanese security strategy. The Evolution of the US-Japan Alliance explores developments in the alliance between the US and Japan and analyzes the transformation of the Japanese security strategy from 1960 to 2013. It also describes the rise and the decline of Japanese pacifism and of the Yoshida Doctrine, the post war security strategy. Moreover, this book highlights how the end of the Cold War forced Japan to rethink its security strategy and post war pacifism. Japan has abandoned its identity of “peaceful nation , turning itself into a “normal national , drawing closer to the United States. Provides readers with a theoretical framework through which they can make sense of the evolutions of the US-Japan alliance and the evolution of the Japanese security strategy throughout post war history. Provides a comprehensive overview of the shifts in the Japanese security strategies and in the American foreign and security policies in the Asia Pacific region. Makes extensive use of primary sources. Addresses main debates on security alliances and security strategies. Incorporates the latest events such as the American Pivot to Asia.

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.

It is widely recognised that the increasing importance of the US‒Japan alliance is strongly linked to emerging threats in the Asia Pacific, with China’s rise and the ambitions of North Korea having brought the two allies closer together. This book, however, seeks to question whether these factors are indeed the sole determinants of this enduring alliance. A pioneering study conducted through the lens of neo-Gramscianism, this book unravels the intricate political dynamism involved in the US‒Japan alliance. It provides an innovative attempt to link the concept of alliances to hegemony and thus examines Japan’s relationship to US dominance in the region. Building on existing scholarship, it also seeks to examine how Japan’s continuing dependence on the US, and the burden it places of citizens living near US military bases, may affect the durability of the alliance in the post-Cold War era. As such, this book presents an alternative theoretical tool in the field of international relations to analyse the political nature of the alliance, as well as US hegemony in the region. This book will be useful to students and scholars of Japanese Politics and foreign policymaking, as well as International Relations and Security Studies more generally.

U.S.-Japan relations occupy an important position in international affairs. This book analyzes the writings of Japanese journalist K. K. Kawakami to provide insight into the decline of U.S.-Japan relations from 1901 to 1941. His writings do much to help us understand the reasons behind the clash at Pearl Harbor.

Using recently released archival material from the US and Japan, this book critically re-examines US–Japanese relations during the tenure of Satō Eisaku, Japan’s longest serving prime minister. During these critical years in the Cold War in Asia, with the Vietnam War raging and the acquisition by China of a nuclear capability, Satō closely aligned with the US. This directly contributed to his success in securing the reversion of Okinawa and other Japanese territories which had remained under US control since Japan’s surrender at the end of World War II. To accomplish this he was also forced to conclude secret agreements with President Richard Nixon, including one on nuclear weapons, which are explored fully. Satō faced the challenge of the Nixon administration’s attempts to shore up the relative decline in American power with policies at odds with allied interests. Satō successfully overcame such challenges and also laid the groundwork for Japan’s anti-nuclear policy.

Cultures of Modernity and the U.S.-Japan Cold War Alliance reconsiders the origins of postwar U.S.-Japan relations by focusing on “modernization” ideologies that the Americans and the Japanese shared in the 1940s–early 1950s. Mobilizing a wealth of English and Japanese-language sources, the author identifies parallel groups of modernist thinkers in America and Japan – including politicians, bureaucrats, intellectuals, scholars, and journalists – and follows how different strands of thought played out within an evolving political environment, forming a “middle ground.” Despite their differences, both the Americans and the Japanese believed in the progressive view of history, considered Japan to be still underdeveloped, and therefore agreed on the advisability of democratizing Japan – which included constitutional reform. Whether proponents or opponents of the U.S.-Japan Cold War alliance system, they also shared the vision of Wilsonian internationalism and devised similar designs for a postwar Asian order where Japan would rejoin. Thus, by showing how the confluence of modernist cultures helped forge a postwar relationship between the two, this study contributes to the field of postwar U.S.-Japan relations by supplementing and reorienting the scope of scholarship, one that has been predominantly America-centered and framed along the line of diplomatic narratives informed by Cold War politics.

Relations between the EU and East Asia have consistently expanded in recent years, particularly between the EU and Japan. Against the background of negotiations on an economic and strategic partnership agreement, the EU–Japan relationship is set to become the single most comprehensive ‘region-to-state’ relationship the world has known today, accounting for more than a third of world GDP and a combined population of more than 600 million people. This book addresses the potential role of the EU, in cooperation with Japan, to craft a stable and prosperous mode of governance in the Asian region. In today’s globalized world seemingly defined by waxing Chinese power and waning American power, the book reflects the lack of appreciation for an EU-Japan concert in maintaining and developing multilateral principles. It aims towards fortifying this relationship by acknowledging that in order to enhance the credibility and capabilities of such an alliance, it is necessary to take stock of where the partnership stands today, what kind of obstacles still need to be overcome and which options have been left untouched. By introducing state-of-the-art empirical research in multiple fields, this book will be of key interest to students and scholars of international relations, comparative regionalism, the European Union and Japanese politics.