Title: Reassessing the Security Alliance Between The United States and Japan
Abstract: T he role of the United States in the security of Japan is an issue that has received relatively little official attention, despite significant developments in Northeast Asia over the past decade. These developments, clearly more than isolated or temporary phenomena, are relevant to the U.S.-Japan security alliance in at least three respects. First, the U.S. commitment to Japan has, in Japan's perception, lost much ofits credibility. Second, improved relations between Japan and the People's Republic of China (PRC) raise the prospect of a shift in the strategic balance of power in Asia. And third, the Soviet Union has significantly increased its use of military forces to exert political pressure on Japan. Each development requires careful examination in terms of its implications for both United States and Japanese interests. Japan's perception of the American commitment in Asia has been shaken by a series of dramatic events over the past 10 years. Beginning with the 1969 Nixon Doctrine, which stated that conventional Asian wars would thereafter be fought by Asians, Japan witnessed the evolution of the U.S. policy of withdrawal from Vietnam. Initially, Tokyo's reaction to the U.S. withdrawal was muted, largely because U.S. pronouncements on military policy indicated a shift in emphasis toward clearly identifiable American interests-such as the security of Japan. Then, early in 1977, at the very outset of his administration, President Carter announced that American ground forces would be withdrawn from South Korea. The change in U.S. policy toward Korea caused considerable apprehension in Tokyo despite assurances from Washington that the United States was not deserting any of its Asian allies. Not surprisingly, many Japanese viewed the announcement of withdrawal from Korea as more indicative of
Publication Year: 1979
Publication Date: 1979-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 1
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