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Japan and the Asia-Pacific in the 1970s: From an economic to a ‘heart-to-heart’ relationship

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 May 2016

CHIARA CHIAPPONI
CHIARA CHIAPPONI*
Affiliation:
Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article deals with the relationships Japan has built in the Asia-Pacific region in the aftermath of decolonization. In post-war historic studies, the emphasis has been on issues such as paying reparations and providing economic assistance as Japan's means of rising to become a world power, at least from an economic point of view. The article explores, from a historical perspective, Japan's efforts with regard to development aid, but focuses on its transition to taking a more active role in Asia. This became more evident from the mid-1970s, when some crucial events related to the Cold War altered the the balance of power in the world. Hence, it investigates how Japan faced and took advantage of the situation in this area, and how it modified its approach to providing foreign assistance to Southeast Asia. Finally, it meditates upon the meaning of the Fukuda Doctrine as an enhancement of Tokyo's regional policy.

Type
Research Article
Information
Modern Asian Studies , Volume 50 , Issue 5 , September 2016 , pp. 1679 - 1704
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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References

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12 Some scholars analyse the birth of ASEAN from a different point of view: the evolution of pan-Asianism. Hatsuse Ryūhei argues that in Asia from the mid-1970s important internal dynamics of development were crystallized around ASEAN, bringing about the stabilisation of inter-state relationships. Thus, pan-Asianism was transformed from an impulse of opposition between the old centre represented by East Asia (China, Japan, and Korea) and the new centre based in Southeast Asia. See Hatsuse, R. (2007). ‘Pan-Asianism in international relations’, in Saaler, and Koschmann, Pan-Asianism in Modern Japanese History, pp. 226–245 Google Scholar.

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38 Wakatsuki, ‘Zenpōi gaikō’ no jidai, p. 72.

39 For more information about ASEAN's feelings towards Japan, see Korhonen, Japan and the Pacific Free Trade Area, pp. 75–82.

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41 Ibid.

42 The role played by the working group has been examined in Sudō, The Fukuda Doctrine and ASEAN, pp. 155–157. Sudō as well as other scholars, emphasizes the existence of a common perspective and, at the same time, the contribution of each member of the group. For example, Nakae and Nishiyama agreed on Japan's political role in the post-Vietnam era and Owada suggested that the best way to explain the new Japanese policy was to present a meaningful rhetorical doctrine, instead of issuing a separate communiqué in each country. Moreover, the famous catchphrase ‘heart-to-heart relationship’ was coined by Tanino.

43 Ajiakyoku (5 July 1977). Wagakuni no tōnan Ajia seisaku. Tōnan Ajia shokoku to no kyōryoku to rentai o mezashite (Fukuda roku gensoku). MOFA, CD-ROM 6, File No. 02-921-04.

44 Wakatsuki, ‘Zenpōi gaikō’ no jidai, pp. 168–169.

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51 Edamura himself recalls that, in his view, the core idea was the ‘recognition of the importance of ASEAN as a viable organisation’, and that the coexistence with Indochina was ‘no more than a proviso added to reassure the Indochinese countries that Tokyo's support for ASEAN does not mean a hostile attitude towards them’. In short, the search for peaceful coexistence with Indochina to achieve stability in Southeast Asia was a medium- and long-term objective for Japan, but it needed to be announced immediately in order to make the Fukuda Doctrine (i.e. the new Japan's foreign policy) as broad as possible. See Edamura, S. (2013). ‘The Fukuda doctrine: diplomacy with a vision’, in Lam, P.E. Japan's Relations with Southeast Asia—The Fukuda Doctrine and Beyond. London: Routledge, pp. 27 Google Scholar.

52 Ibid., p. 35.

53 Fukuda, Kaiko, p. 271.

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55 Ajiakyoku (July 1977). Mareshia no kangaekata. MOFA, File No. 2011-0723.

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59 Ibid.