The China Problem in Postwar Japan: Japanese National Identity and Sino-Japanese Relations

Description

The 1970s were a period of dramatic change in relations between Japan and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The two countries established diplomatic relations for the first time, forged close economic ties and reached political agreements that still guide and constrain relations today. This book delivers a history of this foundational period in Sino-Japanese relations. It presents an up-to-date diplomatic history of the relationship but also goes beyond this to argue that Japan’s relations with China must be understood in the context of a larger “China problem” that was inseparable from a domestic contest to define Japanese national identity. The China Problem in Postwar Japan challenges some common assertions or assumptions about the role of Japanese national identity in postwar Sino-Japanese relations, showing how the history of Japanese relations with China in the 1970s is shaped by the strength of Japanese national identity, not its weakness. Cover Half-title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgements Note on Convention Introduction The problem of nationalism and national identity in postwar Japan The transformation of the China problem in postwar Japan War guilt, war responsibility, and the China problem The Chinese leadership, the China problem, and the history problem A note on political nomenclature Structure of the study and a note on sources Part I: The China Problem in Postwar Japan, 1945–70 1. The China Problem in Postwar Japanese Foreign Policy The Yoshida Doctrine and its China corollary Sino-Japanese relations after Yoshida Institutionalization of the China problem in Japanese politics Conclusion 2. The China Problem in the Japanese Discourse on National Identity Postwar discourse on Japanese national identity Progressive and leftist narratives of national identity The China problem in progressive nationalist discourse The PRC leadership and the Japanese discourse on national identity Resurgent conservative narratives of national identity Conclusion Part II: The Nixon Shock and the Normalization of Relations, 1971–72 3. Diplomacy from the Nixon Shock through the Normalization of Relations The Nixon shock From the Nixon shock to normalization Preparing for Tanaka’s China visit The normalization of relations Conclusion 4. The China Problem in a New Era Ōhira Masayoshi and the conservative approach to the China problem Leftists and progressives confront the Nixon shocks and normalization Japanese right-wing opposition to normalization and the abandonment of Taiwan Normalization and the settlement of the past Conclusion Part III: Anti-hegemony,1973–76 5. Anti-hegemony:Japan and the Sino-Soviet Cold War Taiwan and the aviation agreement Anti-hegemonyand the Sino-Soviet cold war Conclusion 6. Japan’s China Problem in a Time of Crisis The national crisis of the 1970s The right wing to the fore on the China problem The Japanese left and the China problem in the mid-1970s The Chinese leadership on the Japanese China problem Conclusion Part IV: Peace and Cooperation, 1977–79 7. From the Peace Treaty to Economic Cooperation Negotiating the peace treaty The beginning of Sino-Japanese economic cooperation The new Sino-Japanese relationship and Japanese defense Conclusion 8. Triumphalism and Alienation: The China Problem Transformed Conservative triumphalism and the China problem Leftist and progressive alienation from Chinese nationalism Conclusion Epilogue and Conclusion The China problem and the history problem Japanese national identity and the China problem Notes Bibliography Index