Japan and Friends: Foreign Relations

"East Asia is dominated by the security triangle between the US, Japan and China," writes John Hemmings for East Asia Forum. He goes on to explore three interpretations of this triangle: realist, liberalist, and constructivist.

This was an insightful article and highly relevant to topics being discussed at Japan Society, in recent events and upcoming ones, such as the Corporate Conference on May 19th: Celebrating 150 Years of U.S.-Japan Trade Relations: Promoting the Next 150 Years of U.S.-Japan Business Collaboration.

Panelists Edward Lincoln, Shinichi Nishimiya, Tadayuki Hara, Hajime Ito

In 1860, as the Tokugawa era drew to a close, the Kanrin Maru, captained by Kaishu Katsu, set sail for San Francisco, marking the first time a Japanese-piloted ship crossed the Pacific. 2010 is the 150th anniversary of this extraordinary but little known historical event -- the first official Japanese mission to the West following over 200 years of self-imposed isolation.

In combination with the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Japan Security Alliance, this 150-year milestone is a testament to the importance of this essential bilateral relationship. However, Hemmings' conclusion sums up the future of the situation well:

"The US-Chinese-Japanese security triangle is a complex situation. Discussing it through the prism of three international relations theories helps to clarify possible developments. But this discussion has shown that, even if one of these theories is adopted at the expense of others, future movement remain hard to predict."

Japan and Friends: Foreign Relations

The Editor-in-Chief of the Asahi Shinbun in Tokyo,Yoichi Funabashi, published an article for East Asia Forum called Japan-Korea FTA cornerstone of the East Asian Community, which makes several valid points. One example:

"A Japan-South Korea FTA would be instrumental in pushing for a further opening of the global trade system. It would also help Asian regional integration. Integrating the markets of the closest neighbors in Asia will become the cornerstone of the East Asia community."

Japan Society held a panel discussion on April 20th entitled The Japan – China – US Triangle: Competing Partners, which discussed the obstacles in navigating mergers and other alliances among China, Japan and the U.S. due to the nations' completely divergent cultures, histories, and legal systems. Japan and South Korea likely face many of the same issues thanks to their difficult history with one another. To quote from Funabashi's piece:

"During a visit to South Korea in March, farm minister Hirotaka Akamatsu was told by Yu Myung-hwan, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, that since this is the 100th anniversary of Japan’s annexation of Korea, many South Koreans consider it to be a ‘year of humiliation.’ Yu urged caution, noting that emotions were again running high over the territorial issue."

The relationship betweem these two nations is one that will spell out the future of East Asia's relations not only in trade but in cultural respect. It's a relationship that will be worth watching in the coming years, especially as China's economy pulls ahead of Japan's.