Japan in the World - (Asiaworld) by Klaus Schlichtmann (Paperback)

About the Book

Accessing previously unpublished archival materials, Japan in the World examines the life and diplomatic work of Shidehara Kijuro (1872-1951), situating Shidehara within the context of twentieth century statecraft and international politics. While it was an age of devastating ...

Book Synopsis

Accessing previously unpublished archival materials, Japan in the World examines the life and diplomatic work of Shidehara Kijuro (1872-1951), situating Shidehara within the context of twentieth century statecraft and international politics. While it was an age of devastating total wars that took a vast toll of civilian lives, the politics and diplomatic history between 1899 and 1949 also saw the light of new developments in international and constitutional law to curtail state sovereignty and reach a peaceful order of international affairs. Japan in the World is an essential resource for understanding that nation's contributions to these world-changing developments.

Review Quotes

It is quote refreshing to see that Schlichtmann takes Shidehara head-on....the book provides an in-depth examination of Shidehara's foreign policy while also analyzing the crucial role that he played in maintaining the nation's course firmly upon the path of Japan's traditional internationalist foreign policy.

Klaus Schlichtmann has written an impressive, ambitious book in which he traces the evolution of Japanese pacifism and internationalism through the career of an eminent diplomatist, Shidehara, and in the framework of the history of global affairs and thought. Anyone interested in the shift from prewar militarism to postwar pacifism in Japan, as well as in the contemporary debate on the revision of its "peace constitution," would find here an excellent guide to connecting developments in Japan to those elsewhere. An admirable study that corrects the "exceptionalist" accounts of Japanese history that still abound in the literature and places it in a comparative and transnational context.

This book details the origins and principled development of Japan's peaceful diplomacy during the 1920s until the the Japanese military frustrated it by the Pearl Harbor attack; but war did not deter the architect of the policy, Shidehara Kijuro, who later crafted Article IX in Japan's postwar Constitution. It continues to inspire all nations to deal peaceably with their neighbors. Japan in the World is a real contribution to the field.

About the Author

Klaus Schlichtmann is a lecturer in Peace Studies at the Japan Women's University; he also teaches German at Nihon University.