Look North Tokyo: Japanese business in post-World War II Alaska

Abstract

Since the early 1950s, Alaska and Japan have engaged in both economic and cultural exchanges that have made lasting impacts on the 49th State. For the nearly 75-year-long relationship, Japan was Alaska's number one trade partner by the measure of its exports, worth at its height in 1992, well over $3 billion. From products like timber, fish, and natural gas, Alaska had the raw resources that Japan lacked, while Japan had the industrial economy that Alaska needed. Diminishing public and scholarly interest of Alaska-Japan relations, however, has resulted in the neglect of this recent period of Alaska's economic and diplomatic history. As such, this thesis asks: 1. How and why did Alaska's relationship with Japan develop and evolve over time? 2. In what ways did that relationship grow beyond its foundation in trade? 3. How did this relationship affect Alaska and what are its legacies? Using the Jack London Hypothesis of economic cycles, this thesis provides a history of Alaska-Japan relations and asserts that in periods of economic bust, when Alaska was forced to seek alternate streams of revenue, it actively pursued foreign trade with Japan, but that in times of economic boom Alaska neglected its relationship with Japan. During these periods of decreased attention to trade, however, the two partners sustained their relationship through the preexisting cultural, diplomatic, and business institutions that were built in the preceding boom period. Additionally, this research demonstrates that while Alaska's economic cycles drove its pursuit of international trade, Japan's receptiveness to these trade overtures also depended on its own waxing and waning economic conditions.