ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the announcement that Prime Minister Tanaka would visit China and the process through which the Japanese foreign ministry began drafting a potential agreement between the two countries. It also covers Tanaka’s talks with Nixon and the efforts taken by the Japanese to gain American understanding for their efforts toward China. A central argument of the book is that, even as they reached out to China, Japan’s leaders (particularly Ōhira) were unwilling to risk their relationship with the United States. Officials considered too close to China were excluded from the foreign ministry’s preparations for the visit and US–Japan relations were always on the minds of the Japanese officials as they negotiated with their Chinese counterparts.
