From Oslo to Tokyo: Britain's Cold War Strategy and Japan
Japan鈥檚 geopolitical activities having been growing steadily in assertiveness and effect in the 21st Century. One aspect, the Anglo-Japanese relationship, has witnessed significant activity since 2019, with the Global Combat Air Programme, Hiroshima Accords and the Reciprocal Access Agreement all solidifying the geopolitical prism of the relationship. But this is not a sudden nor new development. Anglo-Japanese geostrategic relations have been on a steady progression since the end of the Second World War and the conclusion of the San Francisco Peace Treaty. British officials increasingly saw Japan through the lens of fighting the Cold War and made efforts to adapt their policies as a result. Whether it was fear of pushing Japan into a 鈥榥eutral鈥� space, or worse, pushing them into the Eastern bloc in the 1950s or considering the usage of Self Defence Forces in filling a strategic gap left by ex-Imperial forces in Southeast Asia in the 1960s, Japan was considered an active player and tool in the Cold War for Western efforts by Whitehall.
Dr William Reynolds is a lecturer in Defence Studies Education in the Defence Studies Department, King's College London. He currently teaches at the British Joint Services Command Staff College, Shrivenham. Will's research focuses on British and Japanese interactions at the grand strategic level, with his doctoral thesis – 鈥楾he Japanese Phenomenon鈥�: British Grand Strategy鈥檚 Influence on Policy Towards Japan from 1945 to 1993 – tracing the making of British grand strategy, its priorities, and its connections with British policies towards Japan during the Cold War. Will has also conducted research work in collaboration with the Cabinet Office's Strategy Unit, having taken part in the Cabinet Office-Centre for Grand Strategy Doctoral Student Placement Programme during his PhD from 2020 to 2022. This was continued in 2024 with a Research England Policy Support funded project - Understanding UK Strategic Defence Reviews since 1998: Planning, Implementing, and Learning from Outcomes - which involved close collaboration with partners in the Cabinet Office's Strategy Unit.
