Pacifist State in a Hostile Region

This book fills a serious lacuna in the contemporary research on post-war Japan by examining Japan and Southeast Asia through the lens of conflict and the role of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as Prime Ministerial (and senior minister) initiatives in response to these crises. Specifically, it examines how Japan diplomatically responded to various conflicts in a region where it holds considerable political and especially economic sway. Documents from the Japanese archives, alongside other primary sources, are used to supplement existing knowledge and to showcase Japanese perspectives, while shedding light on Japanese foreign policy planning priorities and its particularistic notion of national security, as defined in largely economic terms.