November 14, 2005
U.S.-Japan: From "Grrr" to "Great"
By Peter
Brookes
When President Bush lands here tomorrow, he deserves a victory
lap for a singular foreign policy accomplishment - growing and
deepening the U.S.-Japan alliance.
Bush critics
bemoan the state of relations with supposed European allies like
France and Germany, but overlook the improvements in the Japanese
alliance.
Yet Japan
is becoming a partner to America comparable only to Britain -
a staunch ally in the region, and a global partner in other issues
around the globe; two powers that share similar values and vision,
willing to pool resources to address daunting political, economic
and, even, security problems.
Major challenges
haunt the United States in the Pacific - from the China's uncertain
rise to North Korean nukes. Washington needs as many strong, capable
partners as possible. And democratic Japan - with the world's
No. 2 economy and a highly capable military - fills the bill quite
nicely.
Which is
why Tokyo is Bush's first stop in his weeklong Northeast Asian
jaunt.
The president
will be warmly greeted by Japan's plucky Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi. Their friendship has helped advance the partnership.
(It didn't hurt a bit that both love baseball - personal relationships
count, even in international affairs.)
The U.S.-Japan
relationship wasn't always so healthy. In the days after the Cold
War, both Washington and Tokyo openly questioned the value and
need for the alliance.
In the 1990s,
America's attitude went from "bashing" Japan on trade to "passing"
on Japan completely. The Clinton administration moved off America's
long-standing emphasis on its (anti-communist, anti-Soviet) Pacific
allies and centered its future Asia policy on China.
Japan was
having second thoughts, too. With the northern Soviet threat gone,
Tokyo was reevaluating the social (e.g., sexual assaults), financial
(e.g., billions in host nation support) and the environmental
burden (e.g., jet noise) of hosting nearly 50,000 American troops.
But China's
rapid economic growth and military buildup and North Korea's "not
nearly frozen" nuclear weapons and burgeoning ballistic-missile
programs led some in both nations to question the wisdom of going
our separate ways.
Running in
2000, Bush promised to reverse course, and strengthen America's
Pacific alliances, especially the Japanese relationship. In office,
his national-security team did just that.
In fact,
the Bush administration has evolved the U.S.-Japan alliance from
"grrrr" to "great." For instance:
¤Since October
2001, Japan has provided $150 million worth of fuel to the ships
of 12 nations supporting Afghanistan and counterterrorism ops
in the Indian Ocean. Without this support, some coalition partners
simply wouldn't have been able to participate.
¤In Afghanistan,
Tokyo contributed $1 billion in reconstruction aid. The Japanese
are rebuilding the Kandahar-Herat Ring road - in disrepair since
the Soviet-Afghan war's end, and desperately needed for economic
development and internal security.
¤In Iraq,
Japan has already spent $1.5 billion of its $5 billion reconstruction
pledge. Japanese troops rebuilt/repaired water-treatment plants,
power stations and hospitals; provided ambulances, medical equipment
and supplies; and aided Iraqi elections.
¤Japan plays
a role in the Middle East peace process, too, providing nearly
$800 million in humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians, helping
reform the Palestinian Authority and contributing other confidence
and state-building efforts.
¤The U.S.
and Japan, with China, India, Korea and Australia, are looking
beyond the failed Kyoto Treaty, working to address pollution,
climate change and energy security via the Asia-Pacific Partnership
on Clean Development and Climate.
¤Tokyo is
also developing/deploying interoperable missile defenses with
Washington - improving both nations' security. And Japan, despite
a prevailing "allergy" to things both nuclear and military, just
agreed to station a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier here,
replacing the older, non-nuclear USS Kitty Hawk.
But even
though the alliance has strengthened greatly, Japan isn't quite
"Britain" yet. While Tokyo's troops can serve in places like Iraq,
they can't fight outside Japan: Tokyo's (U.S.-drafted) "pacifist"
constitution forbids this.
So the Japanese
are considering amending their constitution to allow a greater
role in international security. This will make some nervous, especially
Japan's neighbors, but as long as Tokyo operates within the U.S.-Japan
alliance, things will be fine.
Some friction
still comes on economic issues - such as U.S. access to Japanese
markets and Japanese restrictions on American beef due to "Mad
Cow" concerns. But, overall, The U.S.-Japan alliance hasn't been
better in the over 50 years of its existence - and it's mostly
due to this White House's efforts.
Fortunately,
Tokyo, like London, has been a steadfast ally even when the chips
were down and Washington found itself internationally isolated.
Deepening
- and broadening - Japanese relations is a smart move. In a world
with no shortage of international challenges, from Iran to terrorism
to HIV/AIDS, our team's going to need all the "Japans" and "Britains"
we can muster.
Peter
Brookes is a Heritage
Foundation senior fellow. This article originally appeared
in The New York Post.
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