OBAMA AND JAPAN / Mutual efforts necessary to ‘redefine’ security treaty
Written by Writer on Thursday, November 20th, 2008
OBAMA AND JAPAN / Mutual efforts necessary to ‘redefine’ security treaty
The Yomiuri Shimbun
This is the first installment of a series examining the prospects for Japan’s relations with the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, with a particular focus on security policies.
The Japan-U.S. Security Treaty was signed on Jan. 19, 1960–the year before U.S. President-elect Barack Obama was born. With the treaty poised to reach its half-century milestone while Obama is in office, moves are afoot to “redefine” the bilateral alliance.
“Our alliance is entering a new era. The current Japan-U.S. security arrangement will reach its 50th anniversary in 2010,” Japanese Ambassador to the United States Ichiro Fujisaki said on Oct. 15 at a symposium in Washington sponsored by the research institution Center for a New American Security. “We can and should be working together in many different new areas to deepen our alliance.”
This move, which aims at forging a “new security declaration,” would follow in the footsteps of the U.S.-Japan Joint Declaration on Security–a statement signed by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and President Bill Clinton in 1996 that formed the basis for the guidelines for bilateral defense cooperation that lifted the alliance to a new level. However, times have changed greatly since the joint declaration was signed.
The United States’ status as the world’s sole superpower is waning. Its military is being exhausted by the Iraq war and the battle against insurgents in Afghanistan, and the recent financial crisis has left its economy reeling. The administration of President George W. Bush preferred to resort to a “coalition of the willing” spearheaded by the United States, rather than international cooperation.
Even as Washington became somewhat isolated in the international community, it did not forget to give consideration to Japan, which was a member of this coalition. Some observers even dubbed this period as a “golden age” for Japan-U.S. relations.
Obama, however, has made no secret of his intention to break with this unilateralist approach and seek greater multilateral cooperation on global issues. All indications suggest he will give Japan no special treatment.
Amid these changes, Japan is trying to shift from its past “passive” mind-set, in which it tried to meet the expectations of the United States, to being more proactive in making proposals about what both countries can do together.
The Japanese Embassy in the United States has been regularly sounding out the Obama camp’s Japan policy group since he was confirmed as the Democratic presidential candidate this summer about getting the ball rolling on “redefining” the alliance.
But the response was mixed.
The Japanese officials advocated closer cooperation on combating global warming, energy issues, fighting infectious diseases and tackling piracy. Security issues were barely given a mention.
Although Obama plans to shift the U.S. military focus away from Iraq to Afghanistan, Japan has given no indication it plans to expand its assistance to Afghanistan.
“There was nothing new,” a member of Obama’s advisory group said. “Does that warrant the ‘redefinition’ description?”
This state of affairs should probably come as little surprise.
Japan will struggle to press for greater cooperation in the security sphere within the limitations set by the Constitution while the split Diet, in which the ruling parties hold sway in the House of Representatives while the opposition parties control the House of Councillors, continues to keep the political wheels jammed.
In 2007, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe set about reviewing the government interpretation of the nation’s right to collective self-defense. He stepped down soon after.
His successor, Yasuo Fukuda, put the issue on the back burner. Prime Minister Taro Aso said adamantly he had “absolutely no” intention of considering this issue. For the time being, any consideration of creating a permanent law on the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces abroad looks set to stay near the bottom of the political to-do list.
Democratic Party of Japan policies formulated under Ichiro Ozawa have taken a less-than-glowing view of ties with the United States.
Although the DPJ has said the alliance is the cornerstone of this nation’s security, the main opposition party has opposed a special accord on the so-called sympathy budget, under which Japan shoulders some of the costs of stationing U.S. forces here.
The DPJ submitted a bill last year calling for SDF personnel to Afghanistan to undertake assistance activities as an alternative to the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.
However, when asked in what regions SDF personnel could actually conduct these activities, a DPJ official said, “At the moment, nowhere.”
Ozawa has heaped scorn on the government over its U.S. policies. “The United States, our biggest ally, hasn’t taken the slightest notice of us,” he sniped.
Although Ozawa has shown a willingness to build a new relationship with the United States, his reputation has lost some of its luster in Washington.
“There was a time when [the U.S. side] had hopes for him as a reformer,” a Japanese government source said. “But now, that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
The gridlock in Japan’s political realm has blunted the nation’s ability to quickly respond to international affairs and deprived it of leeway to form long-term strategies. These circumstances also are causing consternation in the United States.
“If things continue like this, Japan will lose its position as a trustworthy ally,” said Bruce Klingner, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center.
(Nov. 20, 2008)
