The Structure of Soviet-Japanese Relations in the Cold War: Normalization in the Mid-1950s

Soviet-JapaneserelationsaftertheAsia-PacificWarwereno exception.Theyweremultidimensionalanddeeplyincorporated intotheColdWarstructure.ThestructureofSoviet-Japanese relationswascloselyconnectedwiththeoverallandregional structureoftheColdWar.InordertounderstandhowSovietJapanesefrictionandconflictsstartedanddeveloped-andhow theywillbedissolved-itisnecessarytoanalysethedynamic historicaltransformationoftheserelations.Itseemsadominant trendamongscholars,however,toconcentrateonbilateral aspectsofSoviet-Japaneserelations.Itistruethatmanyofthem triedtoinjectsomeAmericanfactorsintotheirSoviet-Japanese diplomatichistory,buttreatedthemasaperipheraltopic.Some scholarsputtoomuchemphasisonthedomesticpolitical strugglesoftheinfamousfactionalpolitics[habatsuseijt]asthe mainfactorshapingJapan'sforeignpolicies(Hellmann,1969). Butitisnowmorenecessarythanevertomakemoreeffortsto writeastructuralormultidimensionalhistoryofSoviet-Japanese relationsduringtheColdWarperiod.