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This article seeks to locate the work and contribution of Yanaihara Tadao (1893-1961) within a distinct tradition of International Relations in Japan. It challenges the conventional view that Japanese International Relations originates in the US academic discipline. Yanaihara's view of empire was influenced by two academic traditions in Japan: the Staatslehre and Marxism, and by his humanist, moral view derived from a Christian faith. According to Yanaihara, any empire should be built upon an organic, moral society, which provides an overarching framework for peaceful coexistence between nations and ethnic nations within the empire. Yet, he also made it clear that the existing empires were essentially an outflow of economic and/or ideological imperialism. Such a perspective allowed him to avoid justifying the disastrous Japanese expansionism of the 1930s. The article highlights implications for the debate on the role of US Empire in today's International Relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]