ABSTRACT
The international environment surrounding Japan was volatile during the period of high economic growth (1962-73). In July 1962, a border conflict between Communist China and India broke out (Ministry of Foreign Affairs [MOFA] 1963: 10). The Soviet Union's support of India angered Communist China and sowed the seeds of conflict between China and the USSR. In October of that year, the Cuban Missile crisis occurred, which might have turned the cold war into a hot war between the United States and the Soviet Union (MOFA 1963: 1). Although the crisis was narrowly averted when the Soviet Union backed down from its attempt to bring nuclear warheads into Cuba, the incident reminded the world's people of the fragility of peace between the two superpowers.
