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- Title
Japan and Korean Unification: Ambivalence and Pragmatism - Finding the Least Bad Option.
- Authors
Kendall, James R.
- Abstract
This paper seeks to explore the question of the possible role of Japan in Korean unification. What do the Japanese think about Korea and Korean unification, why do they think that way, and how might it affect their security decision-making in the future? I have examined the question from a historical and cultural viewpoint, as well as a political one. We will see that the Japanese experience with Korea has certain recurring themes throughout history, and that the themes build upon one another to produce a unique Japanese view of Korea. Taking this into account, the salient characteristic of Japan's policy toward Korean unification is pragmatism. Japan prizes stability on the peninsula and fears the possibility of a potentially hostile, possibly nuclear-armed, united country across the Korea Strait. At the same time, the inflammatory behavior of North Korea and the prospect of a united, democratic Korean state make a change in the status quo seem attractive. However, such change would be unattractively unpredictable and ruinously expensive. Faced with these conflicting feelings, Japan hedges. The least bad policy option for Japan to pursue is maintenance of the status quo while endeavoring to rein in North Korea's nuclear and missile programs as best it can. A divided Korea breaks the Korean "dagger aimed at the heart of Japan" at the hilt.
- Subjects
KOREAN reunification question (1945- ); JAPAN-Korea relations; KOREAN history, 1945-
- Publication
International Journal of Korean Studies, 2015, Vol 19, Issue 2, p126
- ISSN
1091-2932
- Publication type
Article