Forged In Steel: The Origins of Japan-Rhodesia Trade and Diplomatic Relations (1924-1980)

Amongst the Asian giants, little attention has been paid to the relationship between Japan and Africa, let alone Japan and Zimbabwe. This thesis traces the development of trade and diplomatic relations between Japan and Rhodesia (Pre-independence Zimbabwe). The central argument in the thesis is that relations between Japan and Rhodesia were borne out of a ‘quid-pro-quo’ arrangement between the two with Rhodesia supplying critical raw minerals to Japan’s industrial players whilst Japan invested in cash and kind into Rhodesia’s critical industries, greatly contributing to Rhodesia’s state survival once Rhodesia became a sanctioned pariah state. This argument is built up by looking at Japan’s foreign affairs policy objectives at the inception of diplomatic contact with Rhodesia which was in 1924, a year after the colony gained responsible self-governance from the British South Africa Company. Through archival research undertaken in Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom, the research unearths...Show moreAmongst the Asian giants, little attention has been paid to the relationship between Japan and Africa, let alone Japan and Zimbabwe. This thesis traces the development of trade and diplomatic relations between Japan and Rhodesia (Pre-independence Zimbabwe). The central argument in the thesis is that relations between Japan and Rhodesia were borne out of a ‘quid-pro-quo’ arrangement between the two with Rhodesia supplying critical raw minerals to Japan’s industrial players whilst Japan invested in cash and kind into Rhodesia’s critical industries, greatly contributing to Rhodesia’s state survival once Rhodesia became a sanctioned pariah state. This argument is built up by looking at Japan’s foreign affairs policy objectives at the inception of diplomatic contact with Rhodesia which was in 1924, a year after the colony gained responsible self-governance from the British South Africa Company. Through archival research undertaken in Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom, the research unearths the commercial agreements that came to dominate Japan’s relationship with Rhodesia; especially the 1961deal for a £41⁄2 million steel plant at Que Que (Rhodesia) between the Rhodesian Iron and Steel Company and Kawasaki. The thesis shows how post-World War II World Bank loans to Japanese steel manufacturers such as Kawasaki Steel and Kobe Steel were used by these firms to invest in Rhodesia’s iron and steel industry, helping the country develop Africa’s only integrated steelworks north of the Limpopo and South of the Sahara. In return, Rhodesia exported hundreds of thousands of tonnes of pig iron and iron ore to Japan, which helped sustain Japan’s modern iron and steel industry. As the ‘Wind of Change’ blew throughout Southern Africa, Rhodesian and Japanese trade ties surprisingly intensified, in stark contrast to other states that began to boycott the racist white regime. The thesis will utilise Japan’s 20th century Black Africa and White Africa policy to explain the motives and Japanese actors responsible for aiding the survival of Ian Smith’s regime. Based on this policy, Japan clustered African states into two cohorts: Black Africa consisting independent states and White Africa which were the Southern African states dominated by white minority regimes. Through this policy, Japan worked to secure access to raw materials whilst securing political support at the United Nations form countries in the Asian- Africa bloc. This analysis of Japan-Rhodesia relations comes at a time where there has been a resurgence of interest into Africa by Japan; a policy shift motivated by the rush by Western and Asian economic giants to secure mineral resources for their Green Transition.Show less

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Forged In Steel: The Origins of Japan-Rhodesia Trade and Diplomatic Relations (1924-1980)