Japan’s Practice of International Law

Diplomacy is a series of crises and the navigational beacon for a nation is International Law. This book deals with six crises in the Foreign Affairs of Japan and shows how International Law played its role. 9/11, war-related litigation in the US, a poisonous gas accident in China, a North Korean spy vessel near the waters of Kyushu, North Korean defectors rushing into a consular compound in China, and the landing of a hijacked airplane from China. In each case, the reader will suddenly be thrown into such a situation without any preparation, together with the author. What kind of laws of nations can be applied to the situation?  Which move is the best choice for the nation?

Foreign Affairs are not only decided by politics, economy, and military considerations.  This book is a legal documentary through which the reader can look into the minds of Japanese officials who are challenged by one crisis after another.

Hidehisa “Harry” Horinouchi, Ambassador of Japan to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Over more than 4 decades of a diplomatic career, Ambassador Horinouchi has been charged with legal affairs and treaties portfolios several times, in addition to Asian affairs and international intelligence analysis. Horinouchi is a Tokyo University graduate, and also attended Nanjing University in China and Harvard Graduate School. He has been a lecturer on international law at Waseda University’s Graduate School of Law.