Characteristics of Japan's Foreign Policy after World War II

After the war, Japan's foreign policy changed with the changes in the domestic and international situation, and it went through five stages.

1. Japan had no diplomatic rights in the early postwar period (when Japan was occupied by the United States).

195 1 September, 2000, signed a one-sided peace treaty to restore the status of a sovereign state. Since then, it has been pursuing "following diplomacy."

Second, the implementation of "economic diplomacy" from the mid-1950s to the 1960s.

That is, under the protection of the United States, with the help of economic power, we will develop the economy and cultivate national strength. The focus of economic diplomacy is Southeast Asia. Japan penetrated into Southeast Asia through war reparations, trade and investment. At the same time, continuously strengthen economic exchanges with the United States and Europe.

Third, in the early 1970s, with the growth of economic strength, "multilateral independent diplomacy" was promoted.

Take the Japan-US alliance as the basic axis, and use China to counter the Soviet Union.

In April and May, Prime Minister Suzuki's visit to the United States marked the beginning of "diplomacy as a political power".

1982 Nakasone's cabinet publicly raised the banner of "being a political power".

Since then, successive governments have regarded "political power" as the main goal of foreign policy. To this end, Japan has made a series of efforts: adjusting its economic development strategy and replacing the original "building a country through trade" with "science and technology"; Currency strengthens the international function of the yen; Expand military spending from "dedicated defense" to "offensive defense"; Adhere to the basic position of "being a member of the West"; Strengthen relations with developing countries; Stabilize and develop Sino-Japanese relations, continue to confront the Soviet Union, and at the same time do not give up dialogue.

5. After the end of the Cold War, we began to fully pursue "aggressive" diplomacy.

Mainly manifested in: proposing to form a new world order dominated by the United States, Japan and Europe; Using the two frameworks of Japan-US political and military alliance and international peacekeeping operations to realize military power and enhance military strength, Japan's military equipment is the most advanced in Asia. Formulated the law on international peace and cooperation, actively broke through the restricted area of sending troops overseas, signed guidelines for defense cooperation with the United States, and changed "something happened in Japan" into "something happened around Japan", laying the groundwork for Japan to intervene in regional disputes in the future; Actively carry out UN diplomacy to prepare for becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council; While adjusting and improving relations with China and Russia and developing Sino-Japanese relations, the tendency to guard against China is strengthening, and Japan-Russia relations have made a breakthrough. The two sides reached an agreement to temporarily shelve the northern territory issue and strengthen economic and trade cooperation, but the progress was slow.