SYMBOLS MATTER: IMPERIAL DIPLOMACY IN POSTWAR JAPAN

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12775/TIS.2022.005

Keywords

Japan, emperor, diplomacy, foreign policy

Abstract

This article analyzes the significance of imperial diplomacy in postwar Japan. While the emperor performed many formal duties, he played only a symbolic role in decision-making process and was usually separated from politics. Nevertheless, the symbolic importance of the emperor was periodically used by politicians to promote friendly relations with other countries. The main aim of the article is to examine to what extent Japanese decision-makers took advantage of the emperor in diplomacy through drafting his speeches, arranging his appointments with foreign statespersons, and planning his visits abroad to realize their own foreign policy goals. Relying on institutional and legal analysis as well as short case studies, the authors argue that while the emperor was used in foreign policy, the reverence towards the emperor made such initiatives particularly controversial. The article tries to fill the gap in research on imperial diplomacy, which has been dominated by biographical studies on individual emperors.

Author Biographies

Karol Żakowski, University of Lodz

Dr hab. Karol Żakowski, prof UŁ Karol Żakowski, PhD (2010) and habilitation (2016) in political science, is an Associate Professor at the Department of Asian Studies, Faculty of International and Political Studies, University of Lodz. He specializes in decision-making process and foreign policy of Japan. He was a visiting scholar at the Kwansei Gakuin University (2008-2009), Keio University (2012-2013), National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (2016), and University of Tokyo (2019). His recent monographs include: Decision-Making Reform in Japan: The DPJ’s Failed Attempt at a Politician-Led Government (Routledge 2015), Japan’s Foreign Policy Making: Central Government Reforms, Decision-Making Processes, and Diplomacy (co-authored, Springer 2018), and Gradual Institutional Change in Japan. Kantei Leadership under the Abe Administration (Routledge 2021).

Sylwia Łagnowska, University of Lodz

Mgr Sylwia Łagnowska is a Ph.D. student at the Department of Asian Studies, Faculty of International and Political Studies, University of Lodz. She specializes in hereditary parliamentarism in Japan.

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Published

2022-06-30 — Updated on 2022-06-30

How to Cite

Żakowski, K., & Łagnowska, S. (2022). SYMBOLS MATTER: IMPERIAL DIPLOMACY IN POSTWAR JAPAN. Torun International Studies, 1(15), 77–91. https://doi.org/10.12775/TIS.2022.005

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Vol. 1 No. 15 (2022)

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Articles

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