ABSTRACT
This chapter joins the constructivist debate on Japan's national identity and foreign policy. It examines the processes that propelled Northern Territories (NTs) and 'Takeshima' to the forefront of Japan's identity constructs vis-a-vis USSR/Russia and Korea respectively. Both of the narratives are quite similar in their emphasis on Japan's victimhood, peacefulness and law observance, as opposed to the jingoism, ignorance of the law and other negative traits attributed to its 'others'. However, the chapter argues that there are important differences in the domestic processes that led to the emergence of these two symbols as well as in their symbolic roles. In the case of the 'NTs', it was the (Liberal Democratic Party) LDP-led government that embraced the irredentist cause as a tool in domestic political struggles. The territorial dispute between Japan and Russia revolves around the Islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai archipelago, which, combined, came to be referred to in Japan as the NTs.
