G. John Ikenberry and Charles A. Kupchan: A New Japan, a New Asia
[G. John Ikenberry is a professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University. Charles A. Kupchan is a professor of international affairs at Georgetown University and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.]
This week marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S.-Japan alliance, but the Obama administration seems sincerely flummoxed as to whether to bemoan or commemorate the occasion....
As the Obama administration struggles to sort out its Japan policy, it should tilt decidedly toward welcoming rather than rebuffing the fresh approach of the government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. While a cold response to his more assertive foreign policy is predictable — Tokyo since World War II has consistently deferred to its U.S. protector — it is sorely misguided. In questioning the location of the Okinawa bases and seeking a relationship with China not entirely mediated by Washington, the new government is not attempting to demote Japan’s alliance with the United States. On the contrary, it is seeking to update the alliance to the new political and strategic environment in the region....
Tokyo’s search for a more autonomous foreign policy is also a reflection of a changing strategic environment. China’s rise is reshaping the region. It has become Japan’s largest export market. Beijing has discovered the merits of regional engagement, opening the door to a new level of dialogue with Japan. Meanwhile, North Korea’s nuclear program has provided a new urgency to regional dialogue, encouraging Japan to step out from behind the shadow of U.S. power....
As Japan deepens its bilateral relationship with China, the two countries may finally have the opportunity to replicate the kind of rapprochement achieved by France and Germany after World War II. In the same way that Europeans built a self-sustaining regional peace, Japan should capitalize on the stability afforded by its alliance with the U.S. to make a push for Sino-Japanese reconciliation and regional integration.
A more assertive and independent Japan promises to do much more for East Asia and the United States than a Japan that defers to Washington. It is past time for Washington and Tokyo to bring the alliance into the 21st century.
Read entire article at NYT
This week marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S.-Japan alliance, but the Obama administration seems sincerely flummoxed as to whether to bemoan or commemorate the occasion....
As the Obama administration struggles to sort out its Japan policy, it should tilt decidedly toward welcoming rather than rebuffing the fresh approach of the government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. While a cold response to his more assertive foreign policy is predictable — Tokyo since World War II has consistently deferred to its U.S. protector — it is sorely misguided. In questioning the location of the Okinawa bases and seeking a relationship with China not entirely mediated by Washington, the new government is not attempting to demote Japan’s alliance with the United States. On the contrary, it is seeking to update the alliance to the new political and strategic environment in the region....
Tokyo’s search for a more autonomous foreign policy is also a reflection of a changing strategic environment. China’s rise is reshaping the region. It has become Japan’s largest export market. Beijing has discovered the merits of regional engagement, opening the door to a new level of dialogue with Japan. Meanwhile, North Korea’s nuclear program has provided a new urgency to regional dialogue, encouraging Japan to step out from behind the shadow of U.S. power....
As Japan deepens its bilateral relationship with China, the two countries may finally have the opportunity to replicate the kind of rapprochement achieved by France and Germany after World War II. In the same way that Europeans built a self-sustaining regional peace, Japan should capitalize on the stability afforded by its alliance with the U.S. to make a push for Sino-Japanese reconciliation and regional integration.
A more assertive and independent Japan promises to do much more for East Asia and the United States than a Japan that defers to Washington. It is past time for Washington and Tokyo to bring the alliance into the 21st century.