ABSTRACT
American withdrawal from Vietnam in 1975 was translated into a general policy of disengagement from potential Asian conflicts. Japan was facing a new international reality in the late 1970s. A new regime was taking shape in post-Mao China, and the US was withdrawing ground forces from continental Asia. Japan had cemented diplomatic and economic relations with the People’s Republic of China, at the cost of cooler relations with the USSR. The security treaty with the US continued in force, but Japan-US friction on various trade matters continued. The Chinese avoided any embarrassment to their guests. Ohira’s three principles allayed Western fears of Japanese market domination, and were designed to quiet Soviet anxieties over a Sino-Japanese military alliance. The history of Sino-Japanese relations in the twentieth century has been marked by inequality, conflict, and mistrust. Japanese leftists faced a major crisis of confidence. Japan wished to sell, and China wanted to buy, advanced technology.
