OECD加盟の外交過程-「政治経済一体」路線としての自由陣営における外交的地平の拡大-

国際政治研究の先端2

抄録

This article examines the diplomatic process of Japan's joining in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and illustrates that Japan's participating in the OECD should be regarded as its struggle for expanding its diplomatic space in the Free World, searching for both political and economic interests.
The OECD, which was reorganized from the Organization European Economic Corporation (OEEC) under the initiative of the United States in 1961, was a forum established with the purpose of coordinating economic, trade and foreign aid policy among its members. Almost all the developed countries in the so called the “Free Word” or the West, including the US, Western European nations and Canada joined the OECD as its original members, but Japan was not one of them. This caused Japan to hold serious concerns about its isolation from the Free World. Japan had already established bilateral relations between the US, through which Japan and the Free World were only linked together. In that situation, Japan had an aspiration for expanding its diplomatic space in the Free World beyond its relations to the US, by participating in the OECD. Moreover, Hayato Ikeda administration, which wanted Japan to be equal footing with the US and European countries, considered that the membership of the OECD was essential to keep its economic growth. Thus it can be said that Japans' aim of joining in the organization was to pursue both economic and political interests.
For the part of the US, Japan's participation in the OECD was regarded as its own interest, since it might enhance Japan's cooperation on economic assistance to the developing countries and strengthen its relation to the Free World stronger. Hence Japan was allowed its membership in the Development Assistance Group (DAG) of the OEEC in 1960. After OECD set on, the DAG was reorganized as the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), which was one of the main committees of the OECD. The biggest obstacle to Japan's joining in the main body of OECD was that European countries, which were the majority of the organization, opposed to it.
Japan made diplomatic efforts to gain the support from European countries with the assistance of the US. Prime Minister Ikeda's visit to the European countries including the United Kingdom, France, West Germany and so on paved the way for the membership of the OECD. Through the discussion with Ikeda, the heads of these countries agreed to Japan's joining in the OECD. In March 1963, the OECD ultimately accepted Japan's full membership.