Japan Towards a More Proactive Foreign Ministry

Abstract

Following Japan’s opening up to the outside world, the Foreign Ministry was established in 1869. The Meiji Restoration of 1868 had ushered in a completely new environment: a Japan which until then had been peacefully secluded from the rigours of colonialism engulfing Asia was suddenly exposed to the harsh reality of European-dominated international relations. However, Japan’s international profile gradually increased and, in the years leading up to World War II, the Foreign Ministry came to occupy a prestigious position within the Government. For example, the budget of the Foreign Ministry accounted for roughly one percent of total government spending on average. This was no small figure, given the military’s huge share of overall government spending. However, all the achievements came to nothing with World War II.¹