Japanese Diplomacy after the Second World War

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Since 1945 Japanese diplomacy has been deployed along three major axes: that of bilateral cooperation (with the Nippo-American Alliance), that of regional cooperation (in the APEC) and that of interregional cooperation (with organizations such as the ASEM). It is presently necessary that Japan make a positive contribution to the formation of a new international order. It is across such an ambition that Japan will find its way to internationalization in the 21st Century. In order to do this it is indispensable to promote a regional cooperation founded in part on multilateralism- as in the APEC, and in part on interregional cooperation- as in the ASEM. This is why it is urgent to reinforce bilateral relations between Japan and the United States, Japan and Russia, Japan and China, and finally between Japan and South Korea. However, the perspectives of Japanese diplomacy are not only idyllic: the reinforcement of the Japanese presence in these Asian countries arouses the memory of Japanese imperialism during the War of the Pacific. It is therefore necessary that Japan distinctively deploy a diplomacy of open contribution to the international community, founded on bilateral cooperation. It is finally the improvement of Japan’s image that will open up new perspectives for the future of Japanese diplomacy. – Summary AFRI-2001