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The Senkaku island group is consisted of eight islets that are located in the East China Sea. Also known as the Diaoyu Islands by the Chinese, these uninhabited islands and rocks add up to a total land area of a little more than 6 kilometer. Given the relatively small size of the islands, it may seem paradoxical that they have been raising humongous tensions between Japan and China and can potentially be a source of war in East Asia. The two great powers in the region share a long history of fighting over the sovereignty of the islands, and the fragile balance between them was seriously challenged in 2012 when Japan decided to bring three Senkaku islets under state ownership. Students of International Relations have tried to explain the Japanese move by using theoretical tools, and one of the mainstream theories in the discipline is realism. Although the realist explanation appears to be quite convincing at first sight, its usefulness in providing a complete answer as to why Japan chose this specific policy of nationalization in 2012 is to be questioned. The purpose of this essay is to argue that realism fails to explain the Japanese policy due to the theory's inherited defects and limitations. The first part of the essay will be an introduction to the brief history of the Sino-Japanese territorial controversies over the Senkaku Islands. After that, Japan's decision to purchase the islets will be examined from a realist perspective, and the weaknesses of the theory will be revealed. Lastly, a conclusion will follow to review the major arguments of this essay.
The Japanese claim of sovereignty over the area can be traced back to 1895, when it formally annexed the Senkaku Islands that were said to be "terra nullius" ("land belonging...
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Ramos-Mrosovsky, C. (2008). International law's unhelpful role in the Senkaku Islands. University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, 29, 903-989. Retrieved from http://query.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/search/q?kw=International+Law%27s+unhelpful+role
Smith, P. J. (2013). The Senkaku/Diaoyu Controversy. Naval War College Review, 66(2), 27-44. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1345597427?accountid=14771
Snyder, J. (2004). One world, rival theories. Foreign Policy, 145, 52-62. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/224031565?accountid=14771
Suganuma, U. (2000). Sovereign rights and territorial space in Sino-Japanese relations: irredentism and the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. Honolulu: Association for Asian Studies and University of Hawai'i Press.
First, if the CCP recognizes Taipei as an independent state, the CCP risks losing it bargaining power over the decisions and actions taken in regard to the island. A country’s bargaining power is the strength of a states claim over the disputed territory. A decline in this power mea...
The Japanese government believed that the only way to solve its economic and demographic problems was to expand into its neighbor’s territory and take over its import market, mostly pointed at China. To put an end on that the United States put economic sanctions and trade embargoes. We believed that if we cut off their resources and their source of federal income than they would have no choice but to pull back and surrender. But the
Feifer, George. Breaking Open Japan: Commodore Perry, Lord Abe, and American Imperialism in 1853. New York: Smithsonian Books/Collins, 2006. pp. xx, 389 p.: ill., maps; 24 cm. ISBN: 0060884320 (hardcover: alk. paper). Format: Book. Subjects: Japan Foreign relations United States /United States Foreign relations Japan.
Blair Jr., Clay, (1975). Silent Victory: The U.S. Submarine War Against Japan. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, p. 78. p. 1072. Buell, Thomas B. -. (1987)
...feat of Japan in World War 2). With the changes of the nature of power, Japan by balancing out aggressive economic policies and a quiet military buildup, was able to build herself up to become a prominent player in the international sphere today. In closing, while Japan’s policies today in general have been skewered towards the arguments of the ‘Gentleman’, increasingly Japan has considered more realist concerns of security in the escalation of tensions of the East Asian geopolitical sphere. Chomin’s Discourse has nonetheless served as a prophetic blueprint for more than a century of Japan policy-making.
23 .Roger Daniel, Prisoners Without Trial: Japanese Americans in the World War II 1993, Hill and Yang.
Jovik, Sonia P. and James O. Jovik. (1997). “History.” Atlas of Hawaii. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, p.408.
Japan has a history that dates back thousands of years. Researchers believe the Japanese people descended from many groups that migrated to the islands from other parts of Asia, including China and Korea. As early as 4500 B.C., the Japanese islands
Solution." Indiana Journal Of Global Legal Studies 18.2 (2011): 901-927. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.
Hasegawa, Tsuyoshi. “Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman and the Surrender of Japan.” Taking Sides: Clashing View in United States History. Ed. Larry Madaras & James SoRelle. 15th ed. New York, NY. 2012. 289-298.
"Q&A: China-Japan islands row." BBC News. N.p., 24 Apr. 2014. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. .
About the power of the subjects of international law, it is the basic properties, the special legal ability of the subjects that inherited the rights and shoulder the obligations, legal responsibility in international legal relations. Subjects' power includes two aspects, and only when ones get all these two aspec...
Throughout its history, Japan has striven to define its national identity not by its own means, but by those predefined by foreign, and most recently, Western powers. Despite legends of the island archipelago being created by the sun goddess Amaterasu, Japan seems to have consistently maintained a indecisive self-image with respect to its neighbors. In the past, China had represented the pinnacle of culture and technology and had tremendously influenced other surrounding countries in Asia and in the world. Indeed, Japan owes its written language to imported and adapted Chinese characters. Without question, China remained for a long time the most influential force upon Japan. However, island nation maintained a rather precarious self-identity: How could a country like Japan, which was supposedly created by the gods and therefore a divine nation, consider itself the apex of the world, given China’s tremendous influence and power? Could Japan truly consider itself the greatest land in the world if China, or Chugoku in Japanese, literally meant “the central country?” For this reason, Japan never truly accepted a position of “belonging” to Asia. That is, despite a considerable amount of imported culture, Japan was still somehow inherently different from other Asian countries.
Our preliminary class gave a brief, yet detailed outline of major events affecting the East Asian region. Within that class, prompted by our limited geographical knowledge of Asia, we were given a fundamental explanation of the geographical locations of the various events taking place in the region. In subsequent classes, we were introduced to the major wars, political shifts, and economic interests which shaped Japan, China and Korea to what they are today. We examined the paradigm of pre-modern Japanese governance, the Shogunate, and the trained warriors which defended lord and land, Samurai. In addition, we examined the socio-economic classes of Medieval Japan, which included the Samurai, peasants, craftsmen, and the merchants. We also examined pre-1945 Japan’s policies toward foreign entities, notably the Sakoku Policy, which sought to expunge all foreign presence and commerce in an effort to protect its borders and culture. 1945, however, saw ...