Author: Nishihara Masashi

Publisher:

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13:

For the foreseeable future, the alliance with the United States will remain the cornerstone of Japan's security. The Japan-U.S. alliance is also arguably the most important factor in the stability of East Asia. While this alliance is thought to rest on a firm foundation, it is in reality constantly affected by a number of elements, small and large. Domestic public opinion and politics, international events and their repercussions, tensions between other countries, and cultural outlook--all these things and more influence the health of the alliance. In this collection of essays, six Japanese political scientists examine how the differences as well as the similarities in policies between the two alliance partners toward various issues and countries may affect the solidarity of the alliance and, hence, influence the stability of the Asia Pacific region at large. Themes covered by these young scholars--all of whom were born after World War II--include the two countries' strategies toward armed non-state actors, the security of Southeast Asia as a common agenda in the alliance, the Taiwan issue in Sino-Japanese relations, the impact of a reunified Korea on the security agreements between Japan and the United States and between South Korea and the United States, economic sanctions against Myanmar, and the overall framework of the Japan-U.S. alliance. As the first such collection of analysis and opinion on this topic in English by Japan's intellectual leaders of tomorrow, this volume makes accessible to readers current thinking in Japan on the alliance that is so important to both countries.