Summary
This volume examines Japanese and Korean politics from both Japanese and Korean angles, exploring why the two countries do not cooperate bilaterally or consult one another, despite their geographical closeness and a number of common features that are central to both countries’ domestic politics and foreign policies. Geographically, both countries lie between United States and China. Diplomatically, they are solidly tied to the United States. Economically, they are increasingly tied to China. In their political cultures and values, both share strong commitments to the free market, democracy, rule of law, human rights, and human dignity. In this thought-provoking book, Japanese and South Korean scholars collaborate to examine closely Japanese and Korean domestic politics and foreign policy and explain how the unfriendly relations between the two countries developed.