Japan's foreign policy in the settlement of territorial disputes

Abstract

Territorial disputes are a key element of Japanese security, directly aff ecting Tokyo's relations with all three of its closest neighbors: China, Russia and South Korea. Because of its complex history of repeated invasions as well as militaristic expansion, Japan has accumulated a tangled legacy of confl icts and disputes with its neighbors over the three contiguous territories, namely Senkaku, Dokdo, and the Kuril Islands, claiming or disputing sovereignty over them. The disputes discussed in the article are a direct result of Japan's involvement in World War II and the often ambiguous language used in treaties and other documents signed at the end of it. The article presents Tokyo's position based on Japanese documents and the positions of Beijing, Seoul and Moscow based on the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Declaration and the San Francisco Peace Treaty. The author illustrated her arguments with maps. During the analysis physiographic and historical approaches were used. The author's examination of these disputes provides a clear picture of how the changing security environment has aff ected the position of Japan and its neighbors over time. In the 2000s, Tokyo introduced a special term — territorial diplomacy "redogayko" which goal was international recognition of the legitimacy of Japanese sovereignty over disputed territories. The Ministry of Foreign Aff airs of Japan conducts an active policy to inform the world community about the rights of Tokyo to the Senkaku Islands, Takeshima, and the socalled "Northern Territories". During the analysis of the positions of the concerned countries the author concludes that Japan successfully defends the ownership of the Senkaku Islands, but so far has no proper results with Dokdo and the Kuril Islands. Russia's attitude to these disputes cannot be passive. First, Moscow is a direct party to one of them. Second, South Korea and China are basing their arguments on Japan's imperial past and, like Russia, on World War II documents.