Title: Japanese Diplomacy toward Latin America after World War II
Abstract: Japan's diplomatic relations with Latin America can be understood only within the context of the country's overall postwar foreign policy. As devised by the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), this policy gave top priority to the maintenance of good relations between the United States and Japan, in military as well as economic terms, thus accepting the US "nuclear umbrella." This pro-American diplomacy was a response by the Japanese government to increasing tensions between West and East in an early period of the Cold War. The conservative LDP chose this alternative rather than a more neutral position, as advocated by the Socialist Party and other groups, who opposed the pro-American policy on the grounds that it would increase tension in Asia and the possibility of Japan entering another war. Pacifism had become very strong in postwar Japan as a consequence of Japan's defeat and the disaster caused by the two atomic bombs. Since the government could not ignore such sentiments among the people, it tried to act very cautiously so as not to provoke international conflict that would have reverberations at home. This led Japan to take a low-profile diplomacy in the international sphere, which is characterized by "not being conspicuous," "not saying anything," and "not interfering in other countries' affairs."1
Publication Year: 1993
Publication Date: 1993-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 5
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