Abstract
Despite geographical proximity that requires only two hours for flights from Tokyo to Seoul, Koreans often argue that Japan is a geographically near but emotionally distant country. Recent developments in Korea-Japan relations show that even as relations have improved through “kanryu” (Korea fever) in Japan,1 bilateral ties can be shattered at any time by any move that is deemed provocative. When Shimane prefecture declared Takeshima day on March 17, 2005, relations were frozen abruptly.2 Though overall ties may be characterized as alignment despite antagonism as Victor Cha notes, antagonism despite alignment can arise.3 How to deal with Korea, which for decades has served as a virtual ally strategically yet retains historical animosity against Japan, has been a critical concern for Japanese strategic thinking.
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Notes
Victor Cha, Alignment Despite Antagonism: The US-Korea-Japan Security Triangle (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1999).
After President Chun Doo-hwan assumed power, he stressed a special relationship with Japan. He claimed that South Korea was facing the threat of a massive North Korean army; the South Korean military buildup was contributing to regional security; a country like Japan could not be secured if South Korea fell to communism; and hence Japan should play a larger role by providing aid to South Korea. The U.S. administration under Reagan was positive to the proposal and several rounds of negotiations were held between Korea and Japan. In 1983 when Nakasone visited Korea, he agreed to provide a four-billion-dollar security loan. This was a new development in Korea-Japan relations in acknowledging security ties between the two. See Chong-Sik Lee, Japan and Korea: The Political Dimension (Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, 1985), pp. 105–39.
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It is reported that Japan gave very short notice to the United States about Koizumi’s scheduled visit to Pyongyang in September 2002. This was regarded as an aberration from the usual practice of consulting in advance before Japan takes important steps. Koizumi’s visit to Pyongyang was looked upon as an autonomous action because it was designed independently from the United States and kept secret until the very last moment. Gilbert Rozman, “Japan’s North Korea Initiative and US-Japan Relations,” Orbis, Vol. 43, No. 7 (Summer 2003), pp. 527–39.
The official title of the Armitage report is the INSS Special Report, The United States and Japan: Advancing toward a Mature Partnership (Washington, DC: Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University, October 2000).
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© 2007 Gilbert Rozman, Kazuhiko Togo, and Joseph P. Ferguson
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Park, C.H. (2007). Japanese Strategic Thinking toward Korea. In: Rozman, G., Togo, K., Ferguson, J.P. (eds) Japanese Strategic Thought toward Asia. Strategic Thought in Northeast Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230603158_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230603158_8
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