Changing U.S.-Japan Alliance: Implications for U.S. Interests

摘要

Since the late 1990s, and particularly since 2000, the U.S.-Japan alliance has undergone significant changes. During the first term of the Bush Administration, converging U.S. and Japanese objectives in confronting North Koreas nuclear and missile programs and Japans participation in U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan reinforced the notion of the U.S.-Japan alliance as one of the central partnerships of U.S. foreign policy, particularly in Asia. By 2007, political developments in Japan and diverging policy approaches to North Korea created some distance in the relationship, but defense officials in the Obama Administration continue to work on implementing significant agreements to upgrade the alliance. As U.S. personnel and facilities in Japan are realigned as part of the broader Pentagon strategy of deploying a more mobile force, Japan is expected to take an active role in contributing to global stability. However, political turmoil in Tokyo has led to considerable uncertainty about Japans future security policies, including its stance towards U.S.-Japan defense cooperation. Japans main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), is widely expected to gain seats in the August 30, 2009 Lower House of parliament elections, and it may achieve its goal of replacing the Liberal Democratic Party as Japans governing party. The election is widely seen as a potential watershedshould the LDP lose its grip on power, which it has held since the 1950s with only a brief interruption, it is unclear whether its successor would be as supportive a security partner for the United States. Some observers say that alliance transformation could ultimately be de-stabilizing if regional powers feel their own security is threatened by a more assertive Japan, or if Japan fails to live up to U.S. expectations. Changes to the U.S.-Japan alliance are of interest to Congress because of the range of U.S. security interests in East Asia. Those concerns include the development of North Koreas nuclear weapons programs, the presence of militant Islamic groups based in Southeast Asia, the possibility of conflict with China over Taiwan, and the overall ascendance of China as a potential challenger to U.S. influence in the region. For its oversight and budgetary responsibilities, Congress has an interest in how the alliance might change under current proposals.