Japans Evolving Foreign Policy Doctrine

During half a century after the war Japan's economy was built up from scratch to the world's number two, while its foreign policy has been described by many as passive and even verging on being non-existent. As a contrast, this book evinces how the foundations of Japan's foreign policy were laid in the early postwar period, and how postwar policies have been characterized by pervasive continuity, guided by distinct national goals and expressed in clear-cut national role conceptions. The far-reaching changes after the end of the Cold War transformed Japan's domestic political system. Consequently, the analyses for 194693 (covered in the first edition) and 19932020 (added in the current edition) are structured differently. In the former, each prime minister gets a chapter except for the initial period 194654 when three premiers figure, while the prime ministers for 19932020 are treated as members of triads, except the long-reigning Koizumi Junichir and Abe Shinz.

offers a timely analysis of Japan's foreign policy today shows the major transformations in Japan's foreign policy doctrine across multiple prime ministers underlines the long-term trends underpinning Japan's longer-term foreign policy

Autorentext

Bert Edström is currently Nonresident Senior Research Fellow at the Stockholm-based Institute for Security and Development Policy. He is the author of Japan and the Challenge of Human Security (2008), SwedenJapan. 150 years of Friendship and Cooperation (2018), Master Spy on a Mission. The Untold Story of Onodera Makoto and Swedish Intelligence (2021), and Four Essays on the History of East Asian Studies at Stockholm University (2024).

Inhalt

1 Introduction.- 2 To Restore and Reconstruct: Yoshida Shigeru, Ashida Hitoshi, Katayama Tetsu.- 3 The Prewar Leftover with a Postwar Mission: Hatoyama Ichir.- 4 The Failure of Brilliance: Kishi Nobusuke.- 5 The International Cold Warrior: Ikeda Hayato.- 6 The Cautious and Discreet Prime Minister: Sat Eisaku.- 7 The Computerized Bulldozer on the International Stage: Tanaka Kakuei.- 8 A Liberal Turning Realist: Miki Takeo.- 9 A Visionary Arch-Conservative: Fukuda Takeo.- 10 Turning the Tide: hira Masayoshi.- 11 The Harmony Man on the Slippery Slope: Suzuki Zenk.- 12 The Symbolic Statesman: Nakasone Yasuhiro.- 13 A Local Politician on the Global Stage: Takeshita Noboru.- 14 Hope and Uncertainty: Kaifu Toshiki.- 15 Full Circle: Miyazawa Kiichi.- 16 The Non-LDP Trio: Hosokawa Morihiro, Hata Tsutomu, Murayama Tomiichi.- 17 LDP Bosses at the Pinnacle of Power: Hashimoto Ryutar, Obuchi Keiz, Mori Yoshir.- 18 A Doer Enters the Stage: Koizumi Junichir.- 19 Three Offsprings on the Political Scene: Abe Shinz, Fukuda Yasuo, As Tar.- 20 The Up and Down of the LDP's Political Opposition: Hatoyama Yukio, Kan Naoto,Noda Yoshihiko.- 21 The Comeback Kid: Abe Shinzo.- 22 Conclusion: Japan's Evolving Foreign Policy Doctrine.