U.S. National Security and Japan: A Strategy for the 21st Century

摘要

One cannot underestimate the level of importance of the multifaceted alliance between the world's two largest and most technologically advanced economies the U.S. and Japan. With shared democratic values and principles, both have much to gain or lose with a shift in the balance of power in Asia. This paper examines the U.S.- Japan alliance in the context of U.S. national security interests, threats to those interests, opportunities to increase U.S. national security in the region, and a strategy for the 21st century in this regard. The absence of a sustained effort by the U.S. and Japan to engage on common security themes in the immediate aftermath of the Cold War, coupled with a growing sense of economic competition and hostility between the two countries, marked the late 1980s and early 1990s. The contrast between a close security partnership and an intense economic rivalry always has made for a difficult coexistence, but during this period, balance was lost with far more time spent on economic issues than on the potential conduct of the alliance in a crisis.