The. Kido Koichi Diplomatic Thinking And Practice

Kido Kouiti was an important palace politician in the early days of Japanese Syouwa Era. He was not only a good friend of Konoe Fumimaro's, but also Naidaijin (Palace Minister) of Mikado Hirohito for several years. Since he was well-connected in the upper classes, Kido Kouiti's diplomatic thoughts had direct and fundamental influence on Japanese militaristic expansion from the 1930s to 1940s. This thesis has the formation, development and changing of Kido Kouiti's diplomatic thoughts as the main line, focusing on the reasons for the transformation of Kido'diplomatic thoughts during 1930-1945, the features of his diplomatic thoughts and actions, and his diplomatic thoughts'influence on Japanese foreign policy. The thesis is divided into an introduction and five chapters.The first chapter briefly discusses the formation of Kido Kouiti's diplomatic thoughts. Firstly, by means of his family history, education and works, this chapter narrates his growing experience. Secondly, this part also discusses the impact of "the Palace Group" on domestic affairs and foreign policy of Japan, and the relationship between "the Palace Group" and Kido Kouiti. Finally, the chapter attempts to analyze how that specific era, and how Saionnji Kinnmoti and Konoe Fumimaro influence the formation of Kido Kouiti'innovational diplomatic thoughts.The second chapter emphasizes the impact of Kidokouiti's diplomatic thoughts on China, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. With the occurrence of "September 18 Incident" (Manchurian Incident), Kido Kouiti proposed his own diplomatic thoughts—"Proper Guidance", and for a long time from then on Kido regarded it as his leading diplomatic thought. Therefore, he insisted on hard-line stance on China, secretly made the Tripartite Pace with Nazi Germany and Italy put into practice and guarded against the Soviet Union all the time. Meanwhile, Kido Kouiti held strong sway over Konoe Cabinet's foreign policy as a minister of Konoe Cabinet. Kido was called "the shadow of Konoe".The third chapter mainly analyses Kido Kouiti's the influence of diplomatic thoughts on U.S. This time Kido was Palace Minister, having great influence on Mikado Hirohito and Japanese political decision-making. Although Kido also supported the plan of military expansion towards the south, he maintained "Stooping to Conquer Policy" in the light of the gap between Japan and U.S. Also for this gap, Kido Kouiti supported peace negotiation with U.S temporarily. At the end of 1941, the negotiation came to rupture, but Kido still tried his best to avoid the war from breaking out and recommended Toujou Hideki to form a cabinet. At last, under the Hull Note's pressure, Kido changed his attitude, and he facilitated the eruption of the war against the U.S.The fourth chapter discusses Kido Kouiti's diplomatic thoughts and actions to end the war. With Japan's situations growing worse in this war, as "the shadow of Mikado", Kido Kouiti was not optimistic any more. The Peace Camp exerted more and more strong influence, and as the soul of the Peace Camp, Kido started to plan how to end the war. On the one hand, to maintain Mikado'interests and to keep the domestic situation stable, Kido progressively implemented his plan. Firstly, he prolonged Toujou'term of office, and when the time was ripe, Kido forced him to step down. Secondly, Kido continued to recommend military personnel to form a cabinet, so as to reassure those who were in favor of the war. Thirdly, at the time Japan was certain to lose the war, Kido again recommended a new cabinet which supported ceasing the war. On the other hand, Kido also made certain policies in foreign affairs. He drafted Trial Measures for the Current Affairs, which provided the helpless Japanese ruling class with a set of coping measures. Besides, Kido manipulated the Japanese foreign policy directly, and increased the interaction with the Soviet Union in expectation of negotiating with the U.S. Finally, despite the fact the Kido Kouiti's ending-war foreign policy failed to achieve what it had expected, the policy promoted the surrender of Japan, and successfully retained the system of Mikado as its basic demand.The fifth chapter, as the conclusion, summarizes and comments on Kido Kouitii's diplomatic thoughts. His diplomatic thoughts are based on the core idea of defending Mikado, and are a combination of innovational thoughts and traditional Japanese political ideas. Kido played an important role in the aggressive war initiated by the Japanese Imperialism, and thus held great responsibility for them. However, his effort in ending the war also deserved our attention.