Japan 's Policy Towards Korea At The Beginning Of The 21st Century

The diplomatic relations between Japan and DPRK has been abnormal for morethan seven decades after the World War Two. During the Cold War, under two pillars,following US and economic diplomacy, the Japanese foreign policy toward the NorthKorea reflected more in containment and confrontation. The international situationsunderwent dramatic changes as the bi-polar mechanism of US and the Former SovietUnion. Influence by situations at home and abroad, Japan made some adjustmentsabout its policy to DPRK. It is one of Japan’s national goals in the21stcentury tobecome a political power, in which policies towards DPRK will paly an importantpart. When adjusting their policies toward DPRK, Japan should not only considernewly emerging problems, but also take the issues left over by the history intoaccount. To put it in a simple way, Japan should take following three issues intoconsideration when making adjustments on its policies towards DPRK, namely NorthKorea nuclear issue, hostage-taking issue and the issue of settlement of past crimes. Itis foreseeable that because of Korean Peninsular’s important and strategic position inNortheast Asia, Japan will handle Japan-DPRK relations as an important matter aslong as Japan wants to become a political power in this region. The Korean Peninsularis located next to China. The developments of Japan-DPRK relations will surly exertan influence on China. China need to haver a clear understanding of the essence,content and tendency of Japan’s policies towards DPRK in order to better respond tothe changing situations in Northeast Asia.