During World War II, Japan, as a fascist nation in the Far East, inflicted heavy war traumas on many countries, including China, the Korean Peninsula, and Southeast Asia.
It formed the Axis alliance with Germany and Italy on the European front, becoming the target of condemnation by countries worldwide.
Unfortunately, unlike Germany, Japan did not deeply reflect on its history of aggression after the war, nor did it completely disassociate itself from fascism.
Instead, it denied or whitewashed its aggressive behaviors, leading to a loss of national credibility.
However, despite this, Japan has gained widespread recognition from countries worldwide and has established diplomatic relations with almost all nations globally.
The United Nations has 193 member states, along with 2 observer states (Palestine and the Vatican), and 2 internationally recognized but not UN member states (Niue and the Cook Islands), totaling 197 countries.
Excluding Japan itself, it has established diplomatic relations with 194 countries, even with countries like Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Bhutan, and Yemen, which are its diplomatic partners.
For example, Japan established diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Bhutan, despite Bhutan being one of the few countries not to have diplomatic relations with the P5 countries. Japan and Bhutan established diplomatic relations on March 28, 1986.
However, some of Japan's diplomatic partners do not have permanent diplomatic missions or have temporarily closed embassies due to wars or regime changes.
For instance, Japan once had diplomatic relations with Afghanistan.
As early as November 19, 1930, Japan signed a friendship treaty with Afghanistan and established legations in each other's countries in the subsequent years, later upgraded to embassies.
However, Afghanistan at that time was not the Afghanistan of today but was ruled by the Barakzai dynasty from 1826 to 1973.
Despite regime changes, Japan maintained diplomatic relations with Afghanistan.
Afghanistan has undergone several regime changes, including the establishment of a republic in 1978 and the Soviet invasion in 1979.
Despite these political upheavals, Japan has maintained diplomatic relations with Afghanistan.
However, Japan has also temporarily suspended diplomatic relations. For example, due to the Syrian War, Japan closed its embassy in Syria in March 2012, and the temporary office was relocated to the Embassy of Japan in Lebanon.
So, although diplomatic relations with some countries may temporarily be interrupted or embassies closed, it does not mean the cessation of diplomatic ties.
According to the official website of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan has established diplomatic relations with 193 out of the 194 member states of the United Nations, with only North Korea and Palestine yet to establish relations.
North Korea and Japan initiated normalization talks in 1991, but they were interrupted due to various factors.
As for Palestine, although it has received recognition from many developing countries, Japan has not formally recognized Palestine as a sovereign state to date due to its foreign policy being led by the United States. Instead, it views Palestine as a highly autonomous political entity.
Furthermore, Japan has also established diplomatic relations with Kosovo.
Despite Kosovo's independence being illegal, Japan recognized Kosovo on February 25, 2009, and established diplomatic relations with it.
In summary, despite Japan causing heavy war traumas during World War II and not deeply reflecting on its actions after the war like other countries, it has still established diplomatic relations with the vast majority of countries worldwide, reflecting the international community's emphasis on diplomatic cooperation.
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