Japan has enormous economic power and yet is a minor player in international politics. In part this has been due to the partnership with US, but now with the end of cold war there is a fierce debate going on in Japan regarding the international political role for the nation. This book is a response to the issues raised and was originally published in Japanese for a Japanese audience. Ronald Dore provides a full analysis of Japan's post war international position and in particular its role within the UN, the use of armed force and constitution. Japan, Internationalism and the UN provides a unique insight into Japan's foreign policy and its related domestic politics. It is the product of nearly half a century of study and discussion with the Japanese themselves about their place in the world.

What do the Japanese really want their diplomacy to achieve for them? Are they content to be subordinate partners in alliance with the US? What is behind all of their disputes about the nature of their 'international contribution'? What do they mean by a 'UN-centred foreign policy'? Why is the miserably traduced Article 9 of the "Peace Constitution" such a central symbol in contemporary politics? Ronal Dore gives his answers to these questions in what was originally a contribution to Japanese debate, first written in Japanese and now supplemented in this English edition by comments from a number of leading Japanese thinkers. Japan, Internationalism and the UN provides a unique insight into Japan's foreign policy and its related domestic politics. It is the product of nearly half a century of study and discussion with the Japanese themselves about their place in the world.