Reinhard Drifte

Abstract: The territorial dispute between Japan and China over the sovereignty of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands is framed by economic interests, domestic circumstances, national identity issues, requirements of international law and historical grievances. The article provides an analysis of these issues which are indicative of the bilateral relationship in general. The analysis of the 1972-2010 period traces the reasons for the erosion of the implicit agreement in 1972 and 1978 between the two countries to shelve the territorial dispute, using Constructivist as well as Realist approaches. The second part contains a case study of the 2010 and the 2012/13 Senkaku incidents, the latter and most serious one started by Ishihara Shintaro, the right-wing Governor of Tokyo, when he declared in April 2012 his intention to have his local government buy some of the contested islands from its private owner which prompted the national government of Prime Minister Noda to buy them instead. The ensuing Chinese reaction has led to a crisis in the bilateral relationship which has political, military and economic implications of considerable importance for the future of Japan and China but also for the stability of the whole East Asian region.

Abstract: Introduction Part I: The China Problem in Postwar Japan 1945-1970 Chapter 1: The China Problem in Postwar Japanese Foreign Policy Chapter 2: The China Problem and Postwar Japanese National Identity Part II: The Nixon Shock and the Normalization of Relations 1971-1972 Chapter 3: The Politics of the Nixon Shock and the Normalization of Relations Chapter 4: The China Problem in a New Era Part III: The Anti-Hegemony Issue 1973-1976 Chapter 5: The Anti-Hegemony Issue: Japan and the Sino-Soviet Cold War Chapter 6: The China Problem in a Time of Crisis and Adaptation Part IV: From the Peace Treaty to Economic Cooperation 1977-1979 Chapter 7: The Diplomacy of Peace and Cooperation Chapter 8: Conservative Triumphalism and the China Problem Epilogue: Toward the "History Problem" Conclusion Bibliography Index

Abstract: This article explores Sino-Japanese relations by looking at how negative sentiments towards Japan among the Chinese population are deployed as a form of political capital in struggles among the Chinese Communist Party elite. It gains insights into this process by looking at how such sentiments have been deployed to challenge the legitimacy of three CCP leaders since the establishment of the People's Republic of China, resulting in the downfall of two. The conclusions from these case studies are then used to understand how the current Chinese leadership has engineered the ‘new starting point’ in the relationship with Japan in the context of the movement from a ‘winner takes all’ type of factional politics into one characterized by ‘power balancing’ among the elite.

Abstract: ................................................................................................................. III ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................. V CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................1 1. OBJECTIVE AND PREVIEW OF SHADOWING/AVOIDING THEORY ........................9 2. STRUCTURE OF THE DISSERTATION ....................................................................12 3. CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE STUDY .........................................................................13 CHAPTER 2: EXPLAINING VARIATION IN THE MILITARY TRAJECTORIES OF RISING POWERS ........................................................................................................19 1. MOTIVATING PUZZLES........................................................................................19 2. TOWARD AN EXPLANATION OF VARIATION IN MILITARY TRAJECTORIES OF RISING POWERS ......................................................................................................................31 3. ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS TO SHADOWING/AVOIDING THEORY ...............64 4. OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH DESIGN .....................................................................74 5. CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................87 CHAPTER 3: MEIJI JAPAN ......................................................................................89 CHAPTER 4: LATE 20 TH -CENTURY JAPAN .......................................................177 CHAPTER 5: CONTEMPORARY CHINA ............................................................285

Abstract: A territorial dispute over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands has gained a high profile in Sino–Japanese relations. Since the 2012 escalation of the territorial dispute, there is no sign of any de-escalation despite economic interdependence, which previously helped ease the tension. Drawing on the constructivist understanding of threat perception and power transition theory, this article analyzes the way in which the deepening of threat perceptions associated with a perceived regional power transition prevents Japan and China from working beyond their subjective conceptions of justice associated with boarders and history. Since 2012, the Sino–Japanese territorial dispute has increasingly fitted into a larger picture of power-political conflict taking place in a power transition in which both Japan and China aim to return to ‘normality’ by propagating their territorial claims, strengthening their military capabilities, and strategic realignment. To that end, this article first introduces a theoretical fram...

Abstract: This article analyzes key departures in Japanese foreign economic policy: the development of an extensive network of free trade agreements thereby abandoning the exclusive focus on the multilateral system as the vehicle for trade liberalization, and the revamping of the official development assistance (ODA) program by slashing its budget, emphasizing national interests in aid giving, and phasing out yen loans to China. We argue that the remarkable degree of policy activism in both trade and ODA represents the Japanese government's attempt to respond strategically to common challenges: domestically the economic recession, internationally the pressure for policy convergence and competition with China. However, in both issue areas the ability of the government to embark on swift policy changes has been compromised by domestic politics: opposition from vested interests and politicization of policy-making, bureaucratic sectionalism, and weak executive leadership. We conclude with some policy recommendations to improve the coherence of foreign economic policy formulation in Japan.