Japan and North Korea did not estab1ish diplomatic re1ations during the postwar era. The two countries he1d
norma1ization talks after the end of the Co1d War. Negotiations for norma1ization were， however， often broken off
main1y because of North Korea's nuclear deve1opment， its 10ng-range missi1e 1aunches as well as the Japanese
abductees issue. Whi1e norma1izing diplomatic re1ations between Japan and South Korea took around 14 years from
1951 to 1965， Japan and North Korea's re1ations still remain abnormal despite over20-year-1ong ta1ks.
This study investigates why and how Japanese foreign po1icy toward North Korea has been changing by
focusing on “between alliance and autonomy" where Japanese foreign po1icy has a1ways been located. I mark
off the period of the Japan-North Korea norma1ization ta1ks into four stages: the Co1d War stage， the post-Co1d
War stage， after the Sun-Shine Po1icy stage， and after Koizumi's two visits to Pyongyang. Observing Japanese
foreign po1icy change stage by stage， we can find that it has moved from a “reactive" one toward “autonomy"，
as well as that“autonomy" is influenced by domestic coa1itions.