Globalization of Japan: Japanese Sakoku Mentality and U.S. Efforts to Open Japan

In The Globalization of Japan, Mayumi Itoh examines the various aspects of Japan’s resistance to internationalization. She shows how the opening up of Japan involves not only the accessibility of Japanese markets to foreign goods, but also the liberalization of the Japanese psyche from the sakoku (secluded nation) mentality. Itoh unearths the roots of the sakoku mentality and reveals it as the fundamental impediment to Japan’s internationalization, examining various Japanese sakoku policies. She also analyzes the three open-door policies that Japan has undertaken in the past and demonstrates how the United States played a crucial role in each one. Concluding with a thorough assessment of prospects for Japan’s internationalization in the twenty-first century, The Globalization of Japan offers new insights into this important and often misunderstood country.