This dissertation analyzes the role of Japanese non-governmental actors and channels in postwar Japan-China trade relations. The conventional wisdom sees the relationship as dominated by the political framework of East Asian international politics. Japan-China trade, however, has been relatively consistent and substantial despite the volatile political environment. This continuity amid change is not fully explained in the literature on the relationship. This dissertation argues that Japanese non-governmental actors provided a source of such continuity. Reciprocity was the central principle of cooperation motivating these actors. This sense of reciprocity comprised a belief in the economic compatibility and a deep commitment to Chinese economic development. This sense stemmed from several factors: a belief in "Asianism," personal encounters with China, and guilt-feelings from the war. Their actions led to a pattern of "structural pluralism" in Japan's trade relations with China, providing flexibility in the relationship. In this structure, the Japanese government was also a source of pluralism, amounting to a "division of labor" with the non-governmental actors. Moreover, initiatives by these non-governmental actors produced several pro-China organizations in the early 1950s. In the 1960s, the pluralistic configuration of Japanese pro-China individuals and organizations led to two separate trade channels: friendship trade and LT-MT trade. This structural pluralism provides the key explanation for how the Japan-China trade relationship survived the turbulent 1960s. The legacy of this configuration remained important in the post-normalization period, in the form of trade organizations, individuals, and firms in the more general pluralist pattern of Japan-China trade. Japanese non-governmental actors, who acted independently of international strategic considerations, thus embodied continuity in postwar Japan-China trade. The dissertation, which draws on a variety of interviews and published and unpublished materials, thus provides a comprehensive analysis of the Japanese organizations and individuals who developed China trade from the early 1950s to the late 1970s. Its findings have substantial implications for our underst and ing of how nation states simultaneously pursue multiple goals and the important role of non-governmental actors.Ph.D.International lawCommerce-BusinessUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/161461/1/8712212.pd
