Abstract
Professor Mineo Nakajima (1936-2013), the first President of AIU and a famous specialist on China, authored 119 books in his life. He was known for his harsh criticism of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, especially on its China and Russia policies. He blamed Japanese policy toward China as “weak-waisted diplomacy” and warned it would eventually worsen relations between the two countries. He also argued that the opportunity for Russia and Japan to resolve the Northern
Territories issue had arrived since the Gorbachev era, and that Japan should make concessions and settle the issue as soon as possible. The Japanese Foreign Ministry rejected and neglected Nakajima's argument. However, presently, the Japanese foreign policies toward China and Russia face great difficulties. In this essay, I analyze the controversy between Nakajima and the Foreign Ministry by examining the legitimacy of their positions.
