China-Japan Relations

Given the vast amount of Chinese and international scholarship on China–Japan relations, this chapter focuses only on the major areas of study, and the key debates. The chapter begins by considering Chinese academic works on Sino-Japanese relations (mainly in the field of IR), followed by an overview of the key international scholarship which encompasses such areas as diplomatic history, economic relations, traditional and non-traditional security issues, and social/cultural relations. It then presents two case studies: the so-called ‘History Issue’, which continues to attract much academic attention, not least because of ongoing debates about interpretations of the past; and the Diaoyu/Senkaku issue which has escalated since 2010 and continues to be a source of tension between the two sides. Throughout, we take note of the recurring themes in the scholarship, which largely revolve around two key topics: the binary of competition versus cooperation; and the history problem. The chapter concludes with a brief consideration of recent and emerging scholarship on China–Japan relations