Japan followed the USA in recognising Taiwan, kept trade with the mainland, then normalised relations with Beijing in 1972 after the Nixon shock.
Under US pressure, Japan recognised the Nationalist government on Taiwan. It signed a treaty with Taiwan in 1952 and had no formal ties with the People's Republic.
Japan still wanted to trade with mainland China. So it kept politics and economics apart. A 1962 deal, the LT trade agreement, allowed trade through semi-official channels.
Nixon's surprise opening to China in 1971 freed Japan to act. Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei visited Beijing in September 1972 and set up full relations. Japan ended official ties with Taiwan but kept trading with it.
In 1978 Japan and China signed a Treaty of Peace and Friendship. It opposed any power seeking to dominate the region, which the USSR saw as aimed at it. From 1979 Japan lent China large sums for development, which helped Deng's reforms. Quarrels over Japan's wartime past, such as the 1982 textbook row, went on.
- Treaty with Taiwan
- 1952.
- LT trade
- 1962: semi-official trade with the mainland.
- Normalisation with China
- September 1972, under Tanaka.
- Treaty of Peace and Friendship
- 1978, with an anti-hegemony clause.
Worked example: Political and economic responses
How did Japan respond politically and economically to China during the Cold War?
- Political: followed the USA in recognising Taiwan, then moved fast after the Nixon shock.
- Economic: separating politics from economics kept trade going.
- After 1978: aid and investment supported Chinese reform.
- Limit: historical disputes still strained relations.
Watch out for this
Japan recognised the People's Republic of China in the 1950s.
Japan recognised Taiwan in 1952 and normalised relations with Beijing only in 1972, after Nixon's opening.
Check your understanding
What allowed Japan to normalise relations with China in 1972?
- Nixon's opening to China removed the main obstacle in Japan-USA relations.
- China joined the US alliance system.
- Taiwan asked Japan to switch recognition.