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Based on extensive original research including interviews with key participants, this book examines how, following Richard Nixon's famous visit to China in 1972, Japan established formal diplomatic relations with China, doing so before the United States and other Western countries. It considers the key personalities - Prime Minister Tanaka and Foreign Minister ¿hira on the Japanese side, and Zhou Enlai on the Chinese side, outlines how the discussions unfolded, and discusses the key issues which divided the two sides and how these issues were resolved: Japanese war reparations to China, how the two countries perceived their past, how Taiwan should be treated, and possession of the Senkaku Islands. The book also shows how Tanaka and ¿hira sought to reconcile China-Japan relations with the US-Japan Security Treaty and to continue non-governmental exchanges with Taiwan following the severing of relations. Overall, the book emphasises that the nature of the relationship established in 1972 continues to be very important for understanding present day China-Japan relations.
List of contents
Introduction: The Road to Beijing; 1. Tanaka Kakuei and ¿hira Masayoshi: Two Types of Leadership; 2. The Nixon Shock - Moving Beyond Sat¿; 3. Formation of the Tanaka Government and the Takeiri Memo - First Approaches to China; 4. Under America's Shadow - The Tanaka-Nixon Summit in Hawaii; 5. Taiwan - The Shiina-Chiang Talks as
Kanjinch¿; 6.
Tanaka's Visit to China and the "Meiwaku" Speech (September 25); 7. Zhou Enlai's "Bluff" and ¿hira Masayoshi's "Trump Card" (September 26); 8. The Senkaku Islands and Tanaka's Meeting with Mao (September 27); 9. The Sino-Japanese Joint Statement and Severing Relations with Taiwan (September 28-30); Conclusion: The Spirit of Sino-Japanese Peace
About the author
Ryuji Hattori is Professor in the Faculty of Policy Studies at Chuo University, Japan and has an MA from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University.
Graham B. Leonard is an independent translator and researcher based in Seattle, Washington, USA.
Summary
Based on extensive original research including interviews with key participants, this book examines how, following Richard Nixon’s famous visit to China in 1972, Japan established formal diplomatic relations with China, doing so before the United States and other western countries.
