Pacific Affairs: An International Review of Asia and the Pacific

Volume 74, No. 2

 

Japanese Policy Towards China: Politics of the Imperial Visit to China in 1992
By Young C. Kim

 

Abstract

The paper presents an analysis of the major factors that shaped the process of Japan's policymaking for the period of November 1991 to October 1992 with regard to the issue of imperial visit. Emperor Hirohito paid an official visit to China in October 1992. By early January 1992 the political decision to proceed with the visit had been made by Foreign Minister Watanabe with the concurrence of Prime Minister Miyazawa. The decision was consistent with the dominant policy position of the foreign ministry bureaucracy. It required seven months for Japan to tranalate the preliminary decision into an official decision of the Japanese government. Japan's "foreign" policymaking in this instance was in essence the domestic political processs, as the decision was shaped fundamentally and decisively by "domestic" political factors. The stable structure of power sustained by the coalition of factions of the Liberal Democratic Party made it possible for the style of decision making observed in this case. The right-wing groups within the ruling party were most vocal and active in opposing the imperial visit, and their activities exerted a substantial influence on the process of policymaking. The analysis is based primarily on a series of interviews the author conducted with most of the principal actors who participated in the policymaking process.