Japan in the 21st Century Geopolitics

In 1853, Japan was forced to come out of its feudal isolation and become a part of the worldwide business network. Its opening up did not mean surrendering to external powers, but rather becoming immersed in an imperialist struggle, from which it would come out defeated in 1945. Nevertheless, Japan’...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:OASIS
Main Author: García, Pío
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:Spanish
Published: Facultad de Finanzas, Gobierno y Relaciones Internacionales 2015
Subjects:
Aun
Online Access:https://revistas.uexternado.edu.co/index.php/oasis/article/view/4282
Description
Summary:In 1853, Japan was forced to come out of its feudal isolation and become a part of the worldwide business network. Its opening up did not mean surrendering to external powers, but rather becoming immersed in an imperialist struggle, from which it would come out defeated in 1945. Nevertheless, Japan’s prostration was temporary, given that in the post-war period it became an unconditional ally of the same super power that had blocked its military aspirations with two atomic bombs. The strategic agreement with the USA remained intact even after the Cold War had ended. Moreover, the verbal struggle and show of frce in the Senkaku / Diaoyutai Islands, in 2012, facilitated a return to power which was more akin to the dictates of Washington and its security plan in the Pacific political wing. Today, the confrontation in Northeast Asia presents the Korean-American-Japanese block, on one side, and the Sino-Russian-North Korean, on the other, on a fork which must be seen as a new bipolar scheme which will guarantee the regional strategic equilibrium. However, progressive changes are expected in the balance of power in both the Asian sector and the rest of the world, due to the impact of growing Chinese economic, political and military power on geopolitical agreements, including the Japanese-American one. En 1853, Japón fue forzado a salir de su aislamiento feudal y a entroncarse en la red comercial mundial. Su apertura no significó sumisión a los poderes externos, sino la inmersión en la pugna imperialista, de la que saldría derrotado en 1945. Empero, su postración fue pasajera, dado que la nueva contienda de posguerra lo convirtió en aliado incondicional de la misma potencia que con dos bombas atómicas acababa de cercenarle las ambiciones militaristas. El acuerdo estratégico con Estados Unidos se sostuvo incólume aun después de terminada la Guerra Fría. Más aún, la pugna verbal y el despliegue de fuerza en el archipiélago Senkaku/ Diaoyutai, en 2012, facilitó el retorno al poder del ala política más afín al dictado de Washington y a su plan de seguridad en el Pacífico. Hoy en día, el enfrentamiento en el noreste asiático presenta al bloque estadounidensenipo- coreano, por un lado, y al sino-rusonorcoreano, por otro, en una bifurcación que debe ser vista como un nuevo esquema bipolar que garantizará por un tiempo el equilibrio estratégico regional. Es de esperar, sin embargo, progresivas alteraciones en la correlación de fuerzas tanto en esa sección asiática como en el resto del mundo, debido al creciente poder económico, político y militar chino, con impacto sobre los acuerdos geopolíticos vigentes, incluido el nipo-estadounidense.