Japan's China Policy in Domestic Power Transition and Alliance Politics

Abstract

The main objectives of this article are to examine the evolution of Japan's China policy in a power shift to the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and to provide theoretical explanations for the evolution. The DPJ government showed accommodating postures toward China, and such postures derived from the DPJ leaders’ particular preferences and perceptions as well as the party's aspiration for legitimating its power formation against the previous government. At the same time, political and security linkages with Washington constituted the baseline for Japan's evolving diplomatic intercourses with China. Neoclassical realism, which integrates domestic political factors with systemic political configurations, can provide valuable insights for explaining major aspects in the evolution of Japan's China policy.