Japan’s response to the fall and rise of China: The shift of foreign policy mainstream thinking

There are many ways to study China’s international relations. Guided by IR theory and historical perspectives, Wang Gungwu has adopted at least three approaches: first, China’s own development in terms of its rich history; second, specific key concepts, such as nationalism, nation-state, sovereignty, culture and identity, among others; and third, China’s interactions with the outside world, such as the West and Southeast Asia. This chapter attempts to follow the third approach by examining an aspect of China’s interactions with the outside world, namely Japan’s response to the fall and rise of China, focusing on the shift of mainstream thinking in Japanese foreign policy and the dynamics of Sino-Japanese relations.