Sanctions and Honorary Whites: Diplomatic Policies and Economic Realities in Relations Between Japan and South Africa

by Masako Osada

Overview

This study critically examines for the first time the unlikely friendship between apartheid South Africa and non-white Japan. In the mid-1980s, Japan became South Africa's largest trading partner, while South Africa purportedly treated Japanese citizens in the Republic as honorary whites under apartheid. Osada probes the very different foreign policy-making mechanisms of the two nations and analyzes their ambivalent bilateral relations against the background of postcolonial and Cold War politics. She concludes that these diplomatic policies were adopted not voluntarily or willingly, but out of necessity due to external circumstances and international pressure.

Why did Japan exercise sanctions against South Africa in spite of their strong economic ties? How effective were these sanctions? What did the sensational term honorary whites actually mean? When and how did this special treatment begin? How did South Africa get away with apparently treating the Japanese as whites but not Chinese, other Coloureds, Indians, and so forth? By using Japan's sanctions against South Africa and South Africa's honorary white treatment of the Japanese as key concepts, the author describes the development of bilateral relations during this unique era. The book also covers the fascinating historical interaction between the two countries from the mid-17th century onward.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313318771
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/28/2002
Series:	Contributions to the Study of World History , #93
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)
Lexile:	1520L (what's this?)

About the Author

MASAKO OSADA is a freelance jourbanalist and political analyst based in Johannesburg./e She was educated in Japan, the United States, and South Africa, and holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of the Witwatersrand.

Table of Contents

Introduction
The Historical Background on Japan-South Africa Relations until 1959
Japan-South Africa Relations from 1960 to 1991
Characteristics of Japan's Sanctions against South Africa
Japan's Foreign Policy and Sanctions against South Africa
Legal and Social Realities of the "Honorary White" Status
South Africa's Foreign Policy and the "Honorary White" Status
Conclusion
Bibliography