Japan’s Response: Prime Minister Tanaka Goes to China

Abstract

Few things remained the same after the thirty-first World Table Tennis Championships in Nagoya, Japan, in March–April 1971 (the “Nagoya World’s”). The event not only restructured the international table tennis circles and other sports communities, but also changed the fundamental dynamics in international politics in East Asia, involving also the Soviet Union and the United States. This chapter examines the Japanese government’s response to Ping-Pong Diplomac y and it s repercussions, as well as the impact of Ping-Pong Diplomacy on the international table tennis and other sports circles.