The Reality and Image of "Independence" in Japan's Foreign Policy in the 1950s

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K01498
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 06020:International relations-related
• Research Institution: International Research Center for Japanese Studies
• Principal Investigator: Kusunoki Ayako 国際日本文化研究センター, 研究部, 教授 (60531960)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 1950年代 / 日本外交 / 日米関係 / 安全保障 / 冷戦

Outline of Final Research Achievements

First, as greements were formed or practices took root on the use of U.S. military bases in Japanese mainland or the reduction in the defense contributions through bilateral consultations during the 1950s, it became clear that "bases" had become embedded in U.S.-Japan security relations, as well as Japanese politics and society. Second, Japan and the United States did not necesarily share the same understanding of the role that the U.S. bases in Japan played in regional peace and stability, at least until around the mid-1950s. The perception gap over "region" suggests the reason why the establishment of a regional collective security framework was difficult. Third, the post-Peace Treaty period of the Yoshida Cabinet as well as the Hatoyama to the beginning of the Kishi Cabinets were significant in that the provisional security agreements in 1951 based on the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty, in which Japan was supposed to provide bases with the United States, made virtually permanent.

Free Research Field

日本政治外交史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

対日講和条約とともに成立した日米安保条約はあくまで暫定的な措置であった。しかし、米軍基地を中核とする安全保障関係は基本的に維持され、安保改定で確定することになる。本研究は暫定的な合意の恒久化の過程を明らかにするものである。これは「同盟」の形成に関する歴史研究であり、国際政治学の同盟研究にも事例として貢献することが期待される。
より大きな視点に立てば、日米安全保障条約を基盤とする日米の安全保障関係は、なぜこれほどの持続性をもったのか、という問いに対する一つの答えを提供することになるであろう。それは、日米同盟や日本外交に関する議論の基盤を提供するという意味で、学術的にも社会的にも意義がある。