The US-Japan Relation in Culture and Diplomacy

By Kazuo Yagami

The book examines how the United States and Japan, despite their sharp differences in cultural, and historical, and geographical backgrounds, established a bilateral and clear linkage with each other by exploring their encounters with one another over more than one and a half centuries with close focus on cu

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kazuo Yagami
• Release date: Oct 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781956073560

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The U.S. – Japan Relation in Culture and Diplomacy

Japanese Perspective

Copyright © 2021 Kazuo Yagami

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Introduction

With the end of the Cold War and the subsequent drastic changes in the world economy and politics, the U.S. – Japan relation inevitably faces the uncharted phase in their encounters with each other. It has been more than three decades since the end of the Cold War but neither nation has yet clear sense of idea what the U.S. – Japan relation should be like in this new world setting. Albeit such drastic changes, the United States and Japan still stand today as the economic powerhouses and share their successes in building a modern nation based on the ideas of democracy and capitalism, making a significant contribution to the development of the Pacific as a pivotal region as it is today in the world politics and economy.

Regarding their outlooks, the two nations are almost identical, particularly in a material sense. In the eyes of some Japan is a miniature of America. Such similarity on the outlooks of the two nations, however, is deceiving. Despite such parallels in similarity, no two nations are as apart as the United States and Japan culturally and historically. Racially the Japanese are yellow. Although America is known for its racial and ethnic diversity, what constitutes Americans, in general, is still white (it is increasingly becoming hard today to maintain that racial claim due to the shrinking size of the white population in the United States). Japan is a nation of harmony while the United States is a nation of individualism. Geographically Japan is an island nation, sharing no border with any other nation and known to be one of the poorest nations with regard to natural resources and one of the most densely populated nations. On the other hand, the United States is located on the continent, sharing its national border with other nations, known as one of the richest nations in natural resources, and in comparison with Japan sparsely populated. In the international arenas, except the pre-WW II Era, in modern time Japan hardly takes any role or position in affairs of world politics and military while the United States as a leader of the free world takes a decisive role and position, frequently finding itself in the midst of international conflicts. Economically, although fundamentally both nations have built their economic structures and principles based on democracy and capitalism in the modern era, there is a sharp contrast regarding how democracy and capitalism are practiced in each nation economically. For example, Japan is known economically for its developmental orientation while the United States for its regulatory orientation, to the degree, that one condemns the other saying that capitalism might cease to exist because of such sharp contrast. In terms of national identity, Japan relies on its historical, cultural, and ethnic homogeneity and traditions and geographical isolation, whereas the United States as a nation of the melting pot attributes its national identity to lofty and constitutionally guaranteed notions of freedom and cultural and ethnical diversity.

Despite these contrasts in multiple aspects, no other two nations are linked as closely as the United States and Japan in their historical experiences and national developments in the modern era. Both were latecomers in modernization. Both emerged as Pacific powers in the late 19th Century and consequently engaged in the economic and political race and confrontation against each other to determine who would be a hegemonic power in the Pacific.

As history indicates, the rise of Japan as a Pacific power is attributed to the quest of the United States to pursue its economic and political interests in the Pacific. It was that quest leading into the success of the United States to end Japan’s seclusion in the mid-19th Century that paved a way for Japan to embark on its modernization. Both shared the rapid growth in their industrializations in the second half of the 19th Century, coming out almost simultaneously as the world powers in the turn of century: the United States after its victory in the Spanish - American War in 1898 and Japan after its victories in the Sino - Japanese War in 1894-5 and a decade later the Russo – Japanese War in 1904-5. Having risen as world powers and continued to be in their competition and conflict over the interests in the Pacific, the United States, and Japan actively engaged in international affairs starting from their roles in the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900, the subsequent War against China, their involvements in WW I, its settlement in 1919, and their participation in the series of the international treaty conclusions in the 1920s and 30s. Then, both shared tremendous pain and suffering from the worldwide economic turmoil triggered by the New York stock market crash in 1929 and the subsequent economic catastrophe, Great Depression. Out of desperation, Japan took the course of aggression in the name of challenging the status quo of Haves and Have-nots as the main cause of the world instability in politics and economy in the 1930s and establishing Asia for Asia by eradicating all Western imperialism and colonialism from Asian soil. This challenge of Japan had brought two nations - the United States as a Haves and Japan as a Have-not - into adversary against each other, ultimately leading into the outbreak of the war in the Pacific when Japan carried out its assault on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. For four years both nations had engaged in one of the most destructive and gruesome wars in the history of mankind. It came to an end as dramatically as it started when the United States used the newly created bomb, an Atomic bomb, against Japan on August 6 and 9, 1945.

Although their relationship was adversary, there was a close link between two nations, sharing this epoch-making war. Unlike the war in Europe in which multiple nations were involved, the war in the Pacific was primarily the war between the United States and Japan over their interests in becoming a hegemonic power in the pacific. Also the use of an A- bomb against Japan by the United States has connected two nations uniquely and historically, the United Stats as the first and only nation that used this awful bomb against humanity and Japan became the first and only nation that experienced and victimized by the horror of an A-bomb. This experience of the two nations over an A-bomb has provided exclusive representations and voices with them for addressing pertinent concerns and issues regarding the use of nuclear power and its repercussion.

During the postwar era, this link between the United States and Japan continued. Facing the growing communist threat, the United States as a war victor occupied Japan from 1945 to 1952, not to punish Japan but to assist it to recover from the war destruction as quickly as possible to defend democracy and capitalism. Japan responded well to such assistance from the United States. Japan not only recovered but also established its status by the late 1970s as one of the world economic powers, along with West Germany, to the extent of becoming a serious challenge to the U.S. economic hegemony. Such challenge by Japan created once again adversary in their relationship, particularly in the late 1980s when Japan was badly out-racing the United States in free-market competition.

Despite such bumps in their relationship the United States and Japan understood an indispensability of each other in the post-WW II era—for the United States-Japan as an allied nation offers its territories and facilities for the American forces to defend democracy and capitalism and for Japan, the United States provides its military power for Japan’s national security and also an indispensable economic partnership for maintaining Japan’s economic growth and expansion. This strong link in the U.S.-Japan relationship, however, began to show a sign of crumbling when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. It was the end of the Cold War. It took away one of the main fabrics that had provided stability in the U.S.-Japan relationship. That is the U.S. sense of obligation to use its defense shield for Japan to protect Japan and its neighbors from Soviet-led communist threat as part of the United States global strategy to defend democracy and capitalism. In return, Japan played the role of the buffer zone by providing the United States with its land spaces and facilities considered strategically vital for the United States in its effort of dealing with the Cold War confrontation. Although the United States still continues to offer its defense shield for Japan in the post-Cold War era, both nations clearly see a need of adjustment and reassessment regarding the nature of their relationship. Also in addition to the end of the Cold War in 1991, there is the rapid rise of China as an economic powerhouse that began almost simultaneously as the Cold War came to an end. While still considering each other as an indispensable economic partner today both the United States and Japan, as mentioned earlier, seem to take China as their most vital economic partner. Today the amount in trade of each nation with China far exceeds that of each other. It has been nearly three decades since the end of the Cold War and facing a rapid rise of China and its challenge today the United States and Japan face a new era in their relationship.

This study examines how the United States and Japan, despite the sharp differences in cultural, historical, and geographical backgrounds, established such bilateral and clear linkage with each other by exploring their encounters with one another over more than one and a half centuries. The author desires that this examination would contribute to an establishment of better understanding in the relationship between the two nations and also to clarifying stereotype ideas and misunderstandings that from time to time lead two nations to confrontation against each other. And also hopefully, it will shed a new light on determining a shape of the relation between the United States and Japan in the 21st Century and putting an end to the over two-decades-long uncertainty in their relationship.

Chapter 1

Early Encounter and Rise of Confrontation

Opening of Japan

Shortly after the unification of Japan by Tokugawa in 1603, ending a century-old era of the warlord, Japan secluded itself from the rest of the world.¹ It was the calculated decision by Tokugawa as a ruling family to defend its newly acquired power from the rapidly expanding Christian influence in Japan.² Initially, this seclusion of Japan did not create any negative response from the world-leading powers. Japan as an island nation located at the very end of the Far East was pretty much left alone. The Western powers did not see much worthiness to make efforts to establish any engagement with Japan in their early stages of commercial expansion. In the mid-18th Century and the early 19th Century, however, when the Western powers including the United States were making the rapid rise as the imperial and colonial powers through their successes in industrializations, Japan was, however, no longer able to indulge in the aloofness of these powers. As their imperial and colonial interests grew, the Western powers began to see merit in opening Japan.

The first attempt of the Western powers to open Japan came from Russia in 1778. Russian merchant ship reached Kunashiri Island off eastern Hokkaido and asked the local daimyo to have a commercial relationship with Russia. The request was promptly denied. Undiscouraged, Russia tried twice more in 1792 and 1804 but both attempts ended in vain.

Britain also had an interest in opening Japan to have commercial relationship. Britain sent its representative to the port city, Uraga, near Edo (today’s Tokyo) to ask Japan in 1844 to establish a commercial relationship with Japan but only to receive a flat rejection from Japan.

Tokugawa Bukufu was determined to keep Japan closed at any cost. Such determination of Tokugawa became shaky, however, when an emerging pacific power, the United States of America, challenged Japan in its attempt to end Japan’s isolation in the mid-19th Century.³ For the need for lighting oil, the United States heavily engaged in the whaling industry. The numerous U.S. whaling ships were roaming in the northwestern Pacific. That created the need for a place for food and fuel supply and shelter for the ships, and humane treatment for the ship wreaked clues. Also, the United States was eagerly seeking an establishment of a commercial relationship with China. It was the concern of the United States that European powers such as England or Russia already established its solid position in China.⁴ Hoping to avoid seeing itself get too much behind those nations in the race of securing overseas markets, particularly those in the Pacific, the United States desired to set up its own position in China. That also created the need for a stationary place for the U.S. merchant ships to get shelter and supply. Japan became an ideal nation to satisfy those needs of the United States because of its geographical proximity to China.

The first attempt by the United States came in 1837. American Merchant ship, Morrison, arrived in Japan to establish a commercial relationship. It was promptly driven off. Then in 1846, another attempt by the United States took place. This time the United States sent an American warship led by Commodore James Biddle to Japan. Once again the United States failed.

Seven years later, in 1853, the United States took another shot. This time Commodore Mathew Galbraith Perry was given the mission. Perry arrived in port city Uraga in Kanagawa with four warships and from there continued his journey to Edo Bay (today’s Tokyo Bay). This arrival of Perry with the four warships put the people of Edo in a state of shock. The ships they saw were something they had never seen before, shockingly impressive and intimidating.

Determined to accomplish his mission, Perry handed Japanese officials the letter from President Fillmore to Shogun, asking for humane treatment of shipwrecked sailors, permission for American ships to enter Japanese ports for supplies and shelters, and an establishment of trade relationship between the United States and Japan. Interesting to note, Perry did not, however, demanded an immediate response from Shogun. When Tokugawa told Perry that they needed more time to make a decision regarding the U.S. request, Perry left Japan after promising his return in the following year to receive a response.

Commodore Perry’s arrival put Tokugawa leaders in a difficult position. Japan had been isolated for nearly two and a half centuries. While no longer the policy of isolation seemed to be a choice Japan could take, the top officials of the Tokugawa were divided in their opinion on how to deal with this predicament Japan confronted. The blind fanatics preferred repelling the barbarians at any cost.⁵ On the other hand, those who had discerning minds to see what was really at stake for Japan knew that repelling the barbarians was out of option. To them, Japan had no capacity to do so, and also such action would produce an even greater predicament for the nation later. In the end, Tokugawa, realizing that they had no other choice but accept the demand of the United States, made a decision to end the seclusion.

It turned out to be the fatal decision for Tokugawa. It was the beginning of the end of Tokugawa’s ruling. It triggered the nation-wide movement by the young samurai to demand Tokugawa to reverse its decision. These young samurai came up with the slogan, Sonno Joi (honoring the Emperor and repelling barbarians).

It was in this clamorous atmosphere that Commodore Perry came back to Japan in the early 1854 as he promised. This time Perry doubled the number of ships, altogether eight. So afraid that they might be attacked if Perry’s requests were not met, Tokugawa took no time to agree to opening two port cities: Hakodate in Hokkaido, and Shimoda near Edo Bay to the American ships, to treat shipwrecked sailors humanely, to permit an establishment of a consulate in Shimoda, and lastly to give the most-favored-nation status to the United States even though there was no commercial relationship between the United States and Japan yet.

Thus Perry succeeded in his mission while all other attempts failed. This success of Perry was greatly due to his diligence. When he was given the mission to open up Japan, Perry took it into his heart. Allegedly he read forty-nine books on Japan, prior to his departure, to make himself thoroughly familiar with Japanese people and culture. It paid off. Understanding how minds of the people of Japan worked, Perry never engaged in negotiations with the Japanese from softness but firmness and strength in terms of not only military and technology but a sense of cultural and moral superiority. For example, Perry refused to comply when Tokugawa officials demanded Perry to go to Dejima, a port city, in Kyushu, one of the four major islands of Japan located in the south. It was the only port city that was purposely kept open by Tokugawa to allow China and Dutch to have limited commercial interactions with Japan.⁶ Then Tokugawa tried to have a compromise, asking Perry to move his fleet from Edo to Uraga. Perry had no intention to show any sign of weakness to Japan by complying with Japanese demand. Also, Perry refused to see any representatives from Tokugawa who were not comparable to a class of Prince or someone with higher status.⁷ It was this firmness of Perry that actually earned him, instead of resentment, respect from Japanese counterparts, contributing to Tokugawa’s decision to give in to the U.S. demand.

Upon the agreement, the United States sent the successful Now York City merchant, Townsend Harris, as Consul General to Japan in August 1856 to establish formally a commercial and diplomatic relation with Japan. Harris came to Japan with the same determination as Perry did to achieve a successful treaty conclusion to have Japan concede to all the U.S. demands. As Perry did, Harris did not negotiate with softness and conciliation but with firmness and strength. At the same time, however, according to Harris’ own writing, he found some positive values in Japanese people and their culture and so developed affection toward them. That naturally helped Harris, while maintaining his firmness and strength, to have respect toward his counterparts in his negotiations. Needless to say, it was one of the major factors for Harris’ success.⁸ The treaty was concluded on July 29, 1858, at Kanagawa. Taking an advantage of the United States success of opening Japan, the other Western powers promptly concluded similar treaties with Japan.

The Kanagawa Treaty stipulated the followings:

Mutual Peace between the United States and the Empire of Japan

Opening of the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate

Assistance to be provided to shipwrecked American sailors.

Shipwrecked American Sailors to be imprisoned or mistreated

Freedom of movement for temporary foreign residents in treaty ports

Trade transaction to be permitted

Currency exchange to facilitate any trade transaction to be allowed

Provisioning of American ships to be a Japanese government monopoly

Japan to also give the United States any favorable advantage which might be negotiated by Japan with any other foreign government in the future

Forbid the United States from using any other ports asides from Shimoda and Hakodate

Opening of American Consulate at Shimoda

Treaty to be ratified within 18 months of signing

This decision to open Japan by Tokugawa became the first step to ending its own ruling of Japan. The young samurai from the local domains, particularly Satsuma and Choshu, reacted to this treaty with vehemence. They received this Tokugawa’s decision to open Japan as a sign of Tokugawa’s incapacity in governing. So, Tokugawa had to go. At the same time, they realized that it was not time for Japan to have "Joi (expelling barbarians) but to welcome the barbarians; Japan had to learn from the Westerners, not to fight against them; repelling the barbarians had to be postponed until Japan’s establishment of its enough capacity to do so. So, they altered their slogan from Sonno Joi to Sonno Tobaku" (Honoring Emperor and the Downfall of Tokugawa). Tokugawa was doomed.

Bringing the Emperor into their cause, the young samurai transformed themselves into the imperial troops against Tokugawa. Now suddenly, instead of a ruling family, Tokugawa found itself as a rebel against the imperial authority. Vastly handicapped in terms of the number of troops, Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu realized the futility of fighting and so stepped down from his status as Shogun voluntarily, ending over 250 years of Tokugawa ruling of Japan in 1868. Young Emperor at the age of only fifteen took the throne. It was a new beginning of Japan, Meiji, and also the beginning of the transition from feudal Japan to modern Japan.

Thus Japan embarked on an epoch-making transformation of itself. The task of such transformation was mountainous. Through the effort of modernizing the nation, the samurai class suddenly found their new status as bureaucrats. Since the end of Tokugawa ruling created a power vacuum, there had to be a rise of a new ruling class to lead this national effort of transformation. Naturally, the group that emerged as a ruling class was those who played pivotal roles in the success of ending the Tokugawa ruling. Most of these new leaders were from the local domains, mainly Satsuma and Choshu, such as Okubo Toshimichi, Saigo Takamori, Ito Hirobumi, Yamagata Aritomo, and Kido Koin, and those from the influential court family class, such as Iwakura Tomomi and Sanjo Taneomi. Young and dedicated with passion to create new Japan, these new leaders of Japan put their personal ambitions and interests aside and worked collectively in their decision-making. They knew time was not on their side. Suddenly Japan was open and vulnerable to the rapidly rising Western imperialism and colonialism. And the last thing they wanted to see was to make Japan another China.⁹ China was humiliated and suffered from its loss in the Opium War against Britain in 1939-42.

Under their leadership and in the name of the Meiji Emperor, Japan’s frantic modernization efforts started. It turned out to be an astonishing success. In addition to adopting widely Western technology and various types of Western institutions for its modernization, there is one other essential factor for that success. No doubt success of Japan would not have taken place without the adaptation of Western technologies and institutions. It was not, however, the adaptation of Western technologies and institutions alone that ultimately brought fruit of success to Japan. The success of Japan was more due to the discerning minds of those Meiji leaders with regard to what truly take for the success of Japan’s modernization.

These leaders understood that Western technologies and institutions were essential for modernization and enhancement of national strength but they knew that true sense of strength of Japan as a nation did not derive from a mere adaptation of things foreign. What they were afraid was an erosion of the fundamental values of Japan as a nation such as culture and national identity because of this sudden infusion of things foreign. They knew that, if a nation had to sacrifice its national identity for the sake of modernization, there would not be any success; even if Japan succeeded modernization initially, stability and strength of the nation would hardly come along with it if the nation was standing on loose ground with regard to national identity. Here was the greatness of Meiji leaders. So they came up with the slogan, "Wakon Yosai" (Eastern Spirit and Western Technology) in order to maintain a clear sense of national identity by keeping traditional values and spirits intact while engaging in the rapid modernization with Western technologies and institutions. To them, Japan opened itself and engaged in frenzy modernization not for westernization but for protecting national identity from Western imperialism and colonialism.¹⁰

The Rising Pacific Powers: The United State and Japan

It is undeniable in this Japan’s transformation from its medieval era to the modern era that the United States played a vital role by forcing Japan to end its isolation and awakening Japan into the rapidly changing world setting economically and politically. As history witnessed, this awakening of Japan contributed to the rapid success of Japan in its modernization. Such success of Japan manifested in its victory in the first major war against China in 1894-5.¹¹

Regardless of why Japan embarked upon this first act of major war against China at this particular juncture of its history, although speculative, one can make a credible argument. That is, Japan’s need to be a colonial power. Since the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan had made a frantic effort and succeeded in bringing itself as a modern nation into the same level as that of the Western nations. Japan’s success, however, would not mean much particularly pertinent to its national security concern unless Japan earned recognition from the Western powers as being equal. Such recognition of Japan as an equal power from the West was nowhere to be found at the turn of the century. Thus rightly or wrongly Japan