Marie Söderberg

The guest editors of the special issue on "The Other Binary: Why Japan-North Korea Relations Matter" question the analytical approach by academic analysis of Northeast Asian regional policy coordination that neglects the geostrategic context in which the nuclear drama is unfolding, & that has been dissected predominantly from the viewpoint of US-North Korea relations. In order to set the stage for subsequent articles, the editors provide an empirical background to Japan-North Korea relations, in the context of great power politics in Northeast Asia from the late 1800 to the present. Periodization of the bilateral relations identifies the ongoing competition for control over Korea, the radical changes at the end of the Cold War, attempted bilateral normalization throughout the Clinton administration, & the developments in the Bush administration. The in-depth analyses by the subsequent articles are summarized in relation to the issues presented in the history of Japanese-North Korean relations. References. J. Harwell