Mid-Term Contest

Fact Checking

100

What was the alternative name of Perry’s arrival in Japan?

The black vessel incident / 黒船来航

200

What are the practices/examples of realism that had took place in our international society?

The US’s Anpo defense treaty, the united defense treaty between China and North Korea, the US-Taiwan mutual defense treaty etc.

300

What are the differences in the definitions of human rights in the imperial constitution and the Peace constitution in Japan?

The old constitution regards human rights or certain doable things for the subordinates as a privilege given by the emperor and strictly limited due to wartime. Yet the Peace constitution ensures that human rights are naturally granted, and the emperor became a national symbol. Females were also granted rights, but the reality can be different from the legitimate documents.

400

Why couldn’t the other countries sue Donald Trump in WTO if the trade treaties were unfair or not approved by regular processes?

• a. The WTO judges and essential personnels for the terials didn’t have any election after 2019 which caused a temporary, or even longer period of shut down of the justification system in the organization.
• b. Donald Trump can transfer and justify the unequal trade treaties as the prevention of foreign fiscal influence and the protection of national security
• c. The other countries think breaking the relationship with the US is not necessary and tend to deal with the problem by holding different forums and conferences.
• d. China is the biggest opponent of the US and other countries need US to beat China. 

500

Right now, Two Taiwanese airline companies just approved to operate two new direct flights from Taipei to Phoenix City in Arizona starting from January 2026. This city in the middle of nowhere is famous for its “future hub” and has incorporated lots of Taiwanese investments. Discuss its significance from all the three fundamental IR theories.

• Realism: The Taiwanese technology will help the United States to develop new weapons, and they can be used to defend Taiwan’s de facto independence status and fight against Chinese invasion. The new flights will strengthen the military ties between the countries to ensure peace in the Taiwan Strait.
• Liberalism: The new flights will perpetuate Taiwanese airline entrepreneurs by earning money from US travelers. Also, the Arizona airport can benefit more from the extra continental flights to far east. The interdependence of economic communication and high-tech could foster the relationship between two democratic nations. China could also learn from this because this country has a capitalist economic system.
• Constructivism: The shared value of the two countries can promote a better relationship just like two friends who have similar positive personalities and care about each other. For example, Phoenix City just celebrated the National Day of ROC on October 10th with a spectacular drone show.

Example Listing

100

What are the three major theories for the field of international relations?

Realism, liberalism and constructivism

200

What were the major conflicts in between the US and Japan after WWI, and what were their influences?

The Asian Alienation Law in California, Immigration Act in 1924 and the Washington Conference system. Racism towards Japanese and the impediment of Japanese military (naval) power.

300

List 3 events that stimulated the practice of the reversed course in the middle of 20th century.

The Soviet nuclear test, Korean war, Chinese civil war, Southeast Asian communist threats, Marshall Plan and the formation of NATO etc.

400

What were the potential causes (list 2 of them) of Japan to attack the Pearl Harbour? Does Japanese army have to do that?

• a. Breaking American will to fight early
• b. Revolutionary application of new naval tactics
• c.  Psychological effect of preemptive attack.
• d. The lack of essential wartime resources such as gasoline.
• e. The ABCD siege net’s dilemma.

Influence Estimation

100

What were the US reactions to Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor?

The United States changed the neutral status of the war towards Japan and made the incident as a turning point of the WWII.

200

Which incident implies the first step of Japan to invade China?

The Mukden Incident in 1931. (満州事変）

300

What are the long-term impacts of Meiji Restoration on the US-Japan relationship?

Economic and cultural ties established lasting connections, Japan's growing power would later challenge American interests in the Pacific, Japan's success influenced American approaches to other Asian nations.

400

Even though after the WWII, all the Japanese politicians accepted the idea of staying peace with the other victorious countries especially the US, the left and right-wing parties in Japan had different interpretations of this term. What were the differences and what did each side desire to benefit from peace?

Left-wing: 

    True peace through simultaneous peace with all      victorious nations:

    Become friendly with all Asian nations and         naturalize the relationship with USSR and China.     Constructivist perspective.

Right-wing: 

• Seeking independence through peace with the western nations:
• Defending the communist powers, Eager for economic recovery and growth, from a realist perspective. 

500

Discuss the significance of the following opinion: “The most important difference in between China and Japan that led them to succeed in modernization or not was the political system.”

• Yes, political system’s difference is important because Japanese society had multiple social classes so that the Samurai and Daimyos were more likely to become the middle class in a capitalist development, which was something lacked in Chinese society where the emperor was the highest ruler and all the people could only turn them into the bureaucrats of the emperor through imperial examination or to become the ones who were ruled brutally.
• However, political system was not the only difference to consider.
• Japan faced Western threats earlier (Commodore Perry, 1853) but not full-scale invasion; it had room to reform before colonization. Meanwhile, China suffered multiple defeats and foreign encroachment (Opium Wars, unequal treaties), draining resources and morale.
• Japan had a smaller population, homogeneous society, and proto-industrial economy whereas China’s massive agrarian economy, population pressure, and social hierarchy made reform harder.
• Japan selectively adopted Western ideas (“Japanese spirit, Western technology”) but Chinese elites often saw Westernization as a cultural threat, leading to resistance.

Short answers

100

What was the main goal(s) of Meiji Restoration?

To prosper the nation and form a strong army, to invest in industry and promote capitalism. (富国強兵、殖産興業)

200

Which incident indicates the full-scale outbreak of war in between China and Japan?

The Marco-Polo Bridge incident in 1937.

300

List two of Eisenhower’s diplomatic policies and their effects:

• Emphasis on nuclear deterrence:Increased the tension of the two camps and the possibility of nuclear war---related to Cuban missile crisis
• Strengthening free world camp solidarity, Communist containment through development assistance, Multilateral alliances like NATO, SEATO---constrained the development of communism in Asian Pacific and lay the foundations of future Japanese economic development.

400

What moniker did MacArthur get when he was overseeing SCAP in Japan?

“American Emperor”.

Detail focusing

100

Who was the most powerful person de facto in Japan during 1945-1949?

Douglas McAuthur.

200

When did the new Japanese Peace Constitution became effective?

May 3, 1947.

300

How did Americans recover/support the conservative power in Japan during the occupation period?

CIA Covert Operations

State Department Policy Direction

Conservative Merger Realization Process

400

List 3 causes of the economic boom in Japan after the Korean War.

• a. The massive financial aid from the US, similar to Marshall Plan.
• b. Technological support for military, but also later used by the monopolistic companies. 
• c. The focus on centralized industrial development.
• d. Lifelong employment and seniority employment.
• e. The expansion of overseas markets and massive exports.

500

Suppose you are having a debate competition, which has a topic of “Does the United States trust Japan or not” and unfortunately, after tossing a coin, your side’s perspective is determined to be “United States hardly trusts Japan”. How are you going to defend this point?

• The Meiji Restoration and the promotion of imperialist and expansionist ideas in Japan made the US hard to trust such a country and they had conflicts of interests in China.
• The Washington Treaty System harmed Japanese interests, and it furthermore escalated the tension in between the two nations.
• United States’ occupation of Japan converted Japanese intrusive traditions to more westernized ones and the US Presidents has never apologized about the atomic bomb incident in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Moreover, even today, active 50,000 US troops are stationed in Japan. They should have been forming a more equal relationship with the self-defense team if the purpose of stationary is only for confronting communist China.
• The United States and Japan signed the Plaza Treaty which greatly harmed Japanese economy. Right now, the GDP of Japan dropped from the 2nd rank to the 5th just within 20 years, being surpassed by China, Germany and India respectively.