Intimate Rivals

Sheila A. Smith explores the policy issues testing the Japanese government as it tries to navigate its relationship with an advancing China. She finds that Japan's interactions with China extend far beyond the negotiations between diplomats and include a broad array of social actors intent on influencing the Sino-Japanese relationship. For many, China's rise means Japan's decline, and Smith suggests how Japan can maintain its regional and global clout as confidence in its postwar diplomatic and security approach diminishes.
In Intimate Rivals, Sheila A. Smith explores the policy issues testing the Japanese government as it tries to navigate its relationship with an advancing China. She finds that Japan's interactions with China include a broad array of social actors intent on influencing the Sino-Japanese relationship. For many, China's rise means Japan's decline, and Smith suggests how Japan can maintain its regional and global clout as confidence in its postwar diplomatic and security approach diminishes.

The first in-depth analysis of the geostrategic change that has reshaped Japan’s social and political relationship with China.

Sheila A. Smith is senior fellow for Japan studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). She lives in Washington, D.C.

Carefully researched.... A valuable contribution.

A rich vein of information that will interest students, policymakers and the general public. Intimate Rivals is a timely volume and a welcome addition to the expanding literature on Sino-Japanese relations.

Ming Wan:
A definitive book on how Japan's contemporary domestic politics affects its China policy, which is also indispensable for understanding East Asian international relations at a critical historical moment.

Authoritative and comprehensive.

Among books on Japan's national security, Smith's Intimate Rivals stands out in its case selection, rich and vivid case description, a keen insight into Sino-Japan relations, and Japan's national security policy with a focus on the nexus between diplomacy and domestic interests.

Impressively erudite and scrupulously researched... For those interested in the future of the region, U.S. foreign policy, or a deep examination of the power and limits of diplomacy, this book won't disappoint. A thorough account of a political dynamic that reverberates globally.

Intimate Rivals contains much sophisticated analysis and wisdom.

Definitive.

A strong academic work that's accessible to the lay person... This book is essential reading for anyone interested in Sino-Japanese relations and their impact on Japan.

Intimate Rivals gives needed context to Japan and China's volatile relationship.

This well-informed study explains, with admirable clarity, the increasingly involved and complex attitudes in Japanese domestic politics regarding China... A fine-grained analysis...Publishers Weekly

Victor D. Cha, Georgetown University, and former director for Asian affairs, National Security Council:
Beautifully written and saturated with insights, Intimate Rivals is a scholarly and policy-relevant study of one of the most complex relationships in international relations today.

Ryosei Kokubun, president, National Defense Academy of Japan:
In this study, Sheila A. Smith has availed herself of a massive number of documents and interview surveys and has traced concisely and persuasively the course whereby Japan has been compelled toward the reform of its conservative political system and its security arrangements, which were established with a view to maintaining Japan's position as a leader in Asia. This work suggests that the Japanese experience with China might serve as a lesson for other countries, the United States included, and is an essential read for those interested in the reconstitution of the East Asian order in light of the rise of China.

Thomas J. Christensen, Princeton University:
This book by one of America's leading analysts of Japan's foreign relations is essential reading for anyone interested in Sino-Japanese relations and the impact of domestic political forces on foreign policy.

Michael J. Green, Georgetown University:
Authoritative and comprehensive. In an era of preoccupation with China's rise, scholars and policymakers are paying insufficient attention to the strategic decisions of those on China's periphery—decisions that will determine the nature of power transitions and whether they are peaceful or not. None is more important than China's historic maritime rival in Asia: Japan.