93 Views
Inter-area/Border Crossing
Organized Panel Session
Defeat in World War II spelled the end of Japan’s empire in Asia, but not of its dreams of regional leadership. In the two decades after 1945, in particular, Japanese prime ministers concerned themselves with recasting Japanese power in Asia, a goal that was hindered, on the one hand, by the US Occupation of Japan, and, on the other, by the memory of Japanese imperialism among the newly independent Asian states. To overcome these obstacles, Japanese leaders often resorted to the politics of anti-communism, an ideology actively promoted by the prewar state, and, in the context of the Cold War and decolonization, by both the United States and Asian nations.
This paper examines how Kishi Nobusuke (1896-1987), one of Japan’s most salient political figures, conducted an informal anti-communist diplomacy to restore Japanese influence in Asia in the 1950s and 1960s. It focuses on how Kishi interacted with such international organizations as Moral Re-armament (MRA) and the Asian People’s Anti-Communist League (APACL). The theater plays and personal networks provided by these organizations helped Kishi to promote Japan as a cultural and political hub against Communism in Asia. Ultimately, the paper suggests that for leaders like Kishi, unable to fully grow out of the 1930s mindset, anti-communism represented the core means to modernize a regionalist agenda premised on Japanese hegemony.
Reto Hofmann
Waseda University, Japan