Diplomacy, War and Policy Planning: The United States and Japan 1940-1945

Abstract

This thesis, which presupposes that the nature of the Japanese-American war was basically military, strategic, and ideological - a point of view generally held by the principals themselves - has two closely inter-related purposes. First, recognising in the words of Norman A. Graebner, qthe significant relationship between the intellectual milieu in which a foreign policy is conducted and the foreign policy itself,q it seeks to delineate the constellation of ideas, beliefs, and assumptions that informed Japanese and American diplomacy from the moment Japanese troops began marching into northern Indochina in September 1940, until the Showa Emperor announced his nation's surrender to predominantly American forces on 15 August 1945. Second, by exploringnthe sources - both primary and secondary - emanating from both sides of the Pacific, itnseeks to provide a comprehensive conceptual lens through which to view the events of this qturbulent era.q In so doing this thesis reflects and seeks to extend recent historiographical trends, the most important of which demonstrates that an understanding of Washington's decision-making process is incomplete without a concomitant understanding of Tokyo's innermost policy-making circles (and vice versa). It might thus be seen as one of the growing number of studies that seeks to overcome what Ian Nish in 1982 referred to as qthe language barrier.qMyhttps://espace.library.uq.edu.au/js/fckeditor/editor/images/spacer.gif intellectual debts are many. Alan Rix undertook the difficult task of supervision from afar, and readily shared his insights with me. John Weik was always on hand to offer insightful comments and criticisms. I am particularly grateful to those who have generously granted me their time and help at various stages throughout my Ph.D. candidature: Kihira Eisaku, Harry Wray, Walter LaFeber, James Matray, Hilary Conroy, Nagai Kazu, Onozawa Torn, David Titus, Robert Butow, Josh Ushay, Mark Dash, Hamai Kazufumi, Jason Flanagan, and Belinda Lorisch. My thesis benefited immensely from the peerless eye of Asada Sadao, who very generously gave of his time to assume a much-appreciated role as Doktor Vater. Joseph Siracusa introduced me ton the study of diplomatic history and instilled me with a love for the discipline.I have also learned much from my wife, Tomoko, who not only ungrudgingly heard me out as I verbally developed the ideas that constitute this thesis, but also offered fresh perspectives that always challenged my thinking. My parents' unfailing support has been a gift that only they could provide. My dedication however is to my son, Joseph Shigeru, so that he may know better the world he inherits.The study of the Second World War has been aided tremendously by the opening of archives in the United States, Japan, and other countries. Their sheer volume militates against any claims to exhausting all the .available documents. Nonetheless, I am grateful to the archivists and librarians of the National Archives and Records Administration at College Park, Maryland; the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace at Stanford University; the Harry S. Truman Library in Independence, Missouri; the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park, New York; the Houghton Library at Harvard University; and the Diplomatic Record Office in Tokyo for their forbearance and kindness.n n n n n n n