Passive Japan-Active Canada

Abstract

When Pierre Elliott Trudeau became prime minister of Canada, the Japanese media depicted him, for the most part, as a learned pro-Japanese liberal. From the beginning, the Trudeau government, in keeping with its policy of new initiatives in the Pacific, has pursued a fairly active policy toward Japan. Japan, in contrast, has responded passively, particularly after 1971-2. In part this may be because during the decade Trudeau has been in office Japan has had four prime ministers Eisaku Sato, Kakuei Tanaka, Takeo Miki, and Takeo Fukuda. Nevertheless Japanese-Canadian relations have undoubtedly developed in terms of politics, economics, culture, and personal exchanges. Some Japanese have been impressed with Canada's foreign policy, in particular its unique activities in the United Nations. And Canadian recognition of the People's Republic of China had considerable impact in Japan, though not of course on a scale with the Nixon 'shock/ As public attention with regard to Canada has expanded year by year, so Japan's leaders have come to recognize Canada as one of Japan's most important partners. This fact was reinforced by the energy crisis of 1973 which emphasized Canada's position as a large and stable supplier of resources. (Japan currently imports most of the uranium it requires for nuclear energy from Canada and has interests in Canadian coal exports.) Japan's concrete response to the new policies of the Trudeau government was largely limited to the field of economics. On the whole Canadian demands for a more active relationship are viewed as an extension of the pressures on Japan from the United States