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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 study 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.
So-called 'turning points' or 'defining moments' are both the oxygen and grid lines that historians and researchers seek in plotting the path of social and political development of any country. In the case of Japan, the ninth Conference of the European Association of Japanese Studies provided a unique opportunity for leading scholars of Japanese history, politics and international relations to offer an outstanding menu of 'turning points' (many addressed for the first time), over 20 of which are included here. Thematically, the book is divided into sections, including Medieval and Early Modern Japan, Japan and the West, Contested Constructs in the Study of Tokugawa and Meiji Japan, Aspects of Modern Japanese Foreign Policy, and Democracy and Monarchy in Post-War Japan.
Not another 'misunderstandings and misconceptions' volume, but a wide-ranging review of intellectual traditions, mutual and alternative images, and case studies of people and events that mirror the focus of this book.
Neutral Sweden's importance for Japanese intelligence grew during the World War II. As Japan's military attaché posted in Sweden, Makoto Onodera was second to none in taking advantage of the opportunities offered in Stockholm, the North European hotspot for intelligence activities, spies and agents. His reports to Tokyo were based on two agent networks and extensive collaboration with agents and officials of Nazi Germany. But he also became a legend for his work in open-source intelligence as well as procured strategic commodities and provided Tokyo with Swedish-made cipher machines. What he did not know, however, was that the office he inherited from his predecessor had already been penetr...
Introduction -- In the beginning : early Swedish-Japanese relations -- Trade under protest : a war in all but name -- Fading protest : total war in China -- Staying relevant : total war in Europe -- Fully engaged : total war in the Pacific -- In the end : Widar Bagge, Japan, and the end of the Second World War.
The sea has many faces. Some are calm and welcoming, others ferocious and death-dealing. For centuries of human history, the sea has seen peaceful trade and war, life and death and failure. In Facing the Sea we meet Swedish experiences of the sea. We can read about smugglers from the Åland Islands, about British privateers seizing Swedish ships, and about Swedish naval officers defending the honor of the flag. We also learn what a disaster at sea or the salvage of a shipwreck can say about past and present societies, and why more and more Swedes choose burial at sea for their loved ones. We hear the voices of children who made the dangerous escape to Sweden in wartime by crossing the Baltic Sea. These are a few of the stories written by the eleven researchers who present a smorgasbord of recent work carried out at the Center for Maritime Studies (CEMAS) at Stockholm University. The contributors are historians, ethnologists, and maritime archaeologists associated with the center.
This edited collection analyzes the innovative changes in Japan’s foreign policy. Pursuing new relationships with South Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe, Japanese initiatives include regional peace-building and human security activities, Asian multilateralism, and the Indo-Pacific concept. This collection focuses on these evolving international relationships through Japan’s unique approach to political change and continuity.
Japan faces significant challenges in both traditional and non-traditional areas of national security policy as the economic resurgence of China and the loss of US hegemonic clout significantly transform the strategic landscape of the Asia-Pacific region. How is Japan coping with this new global and regional politico-security environment? What strategic moves has it taken to best position itself for the future to maximize its global and regional influence? More importantly, how is Japan perceived within the region by traditionally close regional partners such as the US and Australia, by supporters in Southeast Asia, and by new competitors -- most prominently China and India? What international role do these nations wish Japan to play? In this comprehensive volume, these crucial questions are explored in-depth by a group of scholars both distinguished and diverse.