Introduction

Abstract

This is a study of Japan’s postwar foreign policy. It deals with a period when rapid economic growth turned the country from a pauper into a major economic power, if not an economic superpower. The image of Japan as a giant of global reach in international economy does not, however, extend to international politics. Few, if any, would claim that Japan is a superpower in political terms although it cannot be denied that it is an important player in international affairs. It is thus no surprise that the number of books and articles on Japan’s foreign policy has increased dramatically. Studies addressing what was once part of the tenets of the study of foreign policy — the ideas, concepts, intentions, motives and principles that lie behind it — remain scarce, however (Blaker, 1993, p. 2). This is in stark contrast to studies of, say, Swedish foreign policy, where almost any general treatment of the subject begins with a presentation and discussion of the fundamental idea at its base, the policy of neutrality, then of bilateral relations or specific issues. In regard to Japan’s foreign policy, the situation is the opposite: general treatises deal with Japanese—US and other bilateral relations and specific issues and issue areas with hardly any attention paid to the basic principles underlying foreign policy.