Japanese War Reparations

The issue of Japanese War Reparations is so important that all circles are paying a good deal of attention to it. It is also a topic of general interest and a question for study. The dissertation will be discussed from multilateral perspectives in order to understand the multiple settings that affect the event of Japanese War Reparations and to transcend single-country or bi-country perspectives. The country concerned includes U.S.A., China, the British Commonwealth, Japan and other member nations of the Far Eastern Commission (FEC). Historical materials is very rich, multiarchival approach and Comparative approach is both rewarding and demanding in this dispute.The dissertation is composed of the introduction, 6 chapters and reference materials. The introduction reviews the history of the academic research on Japanese War Reparations during the past 50 years, and describes the academic value as well as practical significance on it.The first chapter discusses the process of policy-making on handling Post-war Japan, especially the matter of War Reparations in Chinese Nationalist Government and U.S.A.The second chapter discusses the Removal of facilities as Japanese reparations under the guidance of USA. Allied countries were busy disputing the Issue of Japanese War Booty seized by USSR and other matters of Reparations, so that the Removal of facilities as reparations was delayed. The United States ended collections from Japan in 1949.The third chapter discusses the process of negotiation between USA and countries concerned on the peace agreement of Japan. USA asked reparations claimant countries to waive demands of war reparations from Japan according the Seven basic principles of Japanese peace treaty initiated by John Foster Dulles. After a series of bilateral talks USA made a concession to Philippine on the matter of War Reparations. Over 50 countries concerned concluded formal peace arrangement in September of 1951 in the San Francisco. The signatories to the San Francisco Treaty waived all reparations claims of the Allied Powers. Because of Chineseparticipation question, China was not invited to participate the Peace conference.The fourth chapter discusses the bilateral negotiation of Reparations between Japan and the South-Eastern Asian nations. United States urged Japan to develop economic diplomacy with the nations in Southeast Asia after the peace conference. Japan settled the reparations claims of South-Eastern Asian nations by individual treaties with those countries. And the same time Japan concluded a separate peace treaty with Chiang Kai-shek's Republic of China through the mediation of USA, Chiang Kai-shek waived war reparations claims from Japan.The fifth chapter discusses the application of the comparative approach in the Japanese War Reparations in two ways. One is about the comparison among German, Italy and Japan, the other about the comparison between China and Philippine in the course of claiming reparations.The sixth chapter is the epilogue, which summaries the history of Japanese War Reparation.