Japan's Cold War Policy and China

From 1960s to the early 1970s in East Asia, the Cold War bipolar system, centering on the US and USSR, shifted to a more complicated structure. After the Cuban Missile Crisis, Washington and Moscow accelerated the détente process, leading China to fear a "collusion" of the two superpowers. Publicly attacking its former ally while continuing to fight against America, China rose as a symbol of multipolarization in international politics during this era. Focusing on Japan's policy toward this changing paradigm, Kanda examines Japanese leaders' perceptions of the international order and how they reacted to this changing international environment.
This book moves beyond the traditional Eurocentric view of the Cold War, emphasizing the significant role Japan played. The research provides insight into the foreign policy patterns of post-World War II Japanese diplomacy, particularly in relation to China and the USSR. The investigation relies on careful readings of archival records from Japan, China, Taiwan, the US, the UK, Australia and the UN, published diplomatic documents from France and Germany, and personal papers, diaries and memoirs.
This volume will appeal to anyone who is interested in postwar Japan's politics and diplomacy, international history of East Asia, and the Cold War history in general.

Yutaka Kanda is Associate Professor in the faculty of Law at Niigata University, Japan

Acknowledgements 1. Introduction: Research Questions and Analytical Framework Section 1: Transformation of the Cold War Structure and Japanese Diplomacy in the 1960s Section 2: Categorization of Two Order Frameworks and Leaders 2. Chapter 1: Resistance and the Failed Isolation of China: The Ikeda Administration's Policies Toward China, 1960-1964 Section 1: Willingness to Deal with the China Problems Section 2: Running in Opposite Directions: Japan and the United States on their policies toward China and the Soviet Union Section 3: Rise of the Sino-US Confrontation and the Collapse of Ikeda Diplomacy 3. Chapter 2: Adaptation to, and Discord with, US-Soviet Cooperation: Japanese Policy toward China in the Early Sato Administration 1964-1968 Section 1 Sato Eisaku's Personality in His Policy toward China Section 2: Sino-US Conflicts and the Formation of the Japan-US-USSR Affiliation  Section 3: Debate over the Isolation of China 4. Chapter 3: Sino-US Rapprochement and the Japanese Diplomatic Choice - The Sato and Tanaka Administrations and the Normalization of Sino-Japanese Diplomatic Relations 1969-1972 Section 1: Emergence of US-China-Soviet Triple Axis and Alienation of the Sato Administration Section 2: Sino-US Rapprochement and Sato's Diplomatic Guidance Section 3 Sino-Japanese Diplomatic Normalization and Anti-Soviet Resonance 5. Last Chapter: "Cold War" and "Asian Order" Index