Japan and Us Security

Japan and U.S. roles in Asia Pacific security

Miami, FL, United States, — Does the fall of the Liberal Democratic Party necessarily mean that Japan’s security relationship with the United States will change?

Not really. It is important to separate rhetoric for public consumption from actual government policies.

The present leaders of the Democratic Party of Japan were members of the LDP until the late 1990s and do not belong to the more radical wing of the DPJ. In addition, Japan’s foreign policy is virtually immune to popular opinion.

It is important to remember the power of the bureaucracy and industry in Japan. The iron triangle of the bureaucracy, big business and the government may have seen a slight change in one of its corners but the overall structure remains the same. It is virtually inconceivable that the present Japanese government would depart from Japan’s historic post-war role as the United States’ unsinkable aircraft carrier.

Nevertheless, there are some superficial issues that will probably receive some attention from the present government, such as the restructuring of U.S. military bases in Okinawa and the debate over a secret tacit agreement to permit vessels armed with nuclear warheads from entering Japanese waters.

Those two issues are mainly symbolic in that the troop levels will remain relatively stable under the proposals presently under discussion and the new government will only pay lip service to the position of the anti-nuclear lobby. Concerns such as China’s growing blue sea navy as well as North Korea’s increasing nuclear capability will hamper any radical changes to the security relationship.

There is also a normative dimension to the question posed at the beginning of this discussion. Would Japan’s image as a middle power improve by taking an unaligned pacific posture regarding foreign policy? Not necessarily.

A more independent foreign policy would mean that Japan would have to spend political capital on...