ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the role that Taiwan played in Japan’s preparations to normalize relations with China. The Liberal Democratic Party, the government party in Japan, had a strongly pro-Taiwan faction, and Tanaka and Ōhira took pains to assuage them prior to their visit to Beijing (with limited success). While the two leaders recognized that formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan would have to be sacrificed, they wanted to do as little long-term damage to relations with Taiwan as possible so that civil and business relations could be maintained. This chapter discusses the Tanaka government’s efforts toward their party and Taiwan, most notably the visit by Shiina Etsusaburō to Taipei as a special envoy.
