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Since the events of the Second World War the relationship between Japan and Britain has undergone an extraordinary transformation, from bitter conflict to peaceful alliance. Japan and Britain at War and Peace is a multilayered examination of this bilateral relationship with an emphasis on the issue of reconciliation.
Reconciliation is explored in a broad sense and in a number of areas from economic cooperation and conflict, common concerns in the international system, public and media perceptions of each country, and the efforts of individuals, non-governmental organizations and governments to promote mutual understanding and find strategies to deal with dilemmas.
With chapters from an international team of contributors from the UK, Japan, and Australia, this book will appeal to students and scholars of Japanese and British history and international politics.
List of contents
Introduction Part 1: At War 1. Ebb and Flow: The British at War with the Japanese 2. British Strategy in World War 2 and Reconciliation with its Former Enemies 3. Why did the Japanese Army Abuse Allied Prisoners of War?: The Primary Historical and Structural Causes 4. Neither Pro-British nor Pro-Japanese: How the Burmese Political Elite Reacted under British and Japanese Rule Part 2: In Peace 5. British-Japanese Dilemmas in Southeast Asia after 1945 6. The Tokyo Trial and British-Japanese Reconciliation: The Question of tu Quoque, Political Oblivion and British Prisoners of War 7. Peacemaking and After: Anglo-Japanese Relations and Japan’s Re-entry into International Society 8. Postwar Japanese Intellectuals’ Perspective on Reconciliation between British and Japanese Soldiers over the War in Burma: The Case of Michio Takeyama and Harp of Burma 9. Anglo-Japanese Economic and Military Relations, 1945–60 10. Reconciliation: The Broader Context 11. Reporting the Fiftieth and Sixtieth Anniversaries of the End of World War 2: Less Fear and Loathing in the UK Press towards Japan? 12. Japan-UK Relations in the Global Context. Conclusion
About the author
Hugo Dobson is Senior Lecturer in Japan’s International Relations in the School of East Asian Studies and the National Institute of Japanese Studies at the University of Sheffield.
Kosuge Nobuko is Professor in International Relations in the Faculty of Law at Yamanashi Gakuin University.
Summary
This book examines reconciliation between Japan and the UK, exploring the development and current state of Japan-UK relations from the perspectives of economic cooperation and conflict, common concerns in the international system, and public and media perceptions of each country.
