Mutsumi Hirano, Kenji Tozawa and John West

Published November 2000

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(Weste paper): deals with Japan's return to trading with the countries of Southeast Asia in the early 1950s and the responses of the United States and British governments. (Hirano paper): provides an overall picture of the Japanese history textbook disputes with China and South Korea in 1982 and 1986, and the repercussions of these diplomatic rows in Asia and beyond. The paper also sheds light on the internal discussion of these topics in the Japanese Diet and in government circles. (Tozawa paper): deals with the phenomenon of religious-based parties in India and Japan joining coalition governments in the 1990s. In India, the religious-based party, Bharatiya Janata party, formed (with allies) the government in 1998. In Japan the religious-based party, Komeito, joined the coalition government led by the Liberal-Democratic party in 1999.