March 31, 2015
Japan Leads a New Asian Order
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress later this month will mark the first time a Japanese leader has spoken before America’s premier venue for foreign leaders. But it almost didn’t happen. Korean-American organizations and at least one veterans’ group pressed Congressional leaders to condition Mr. Abe’s invitation on his repudiation of Japan’s wartime conduct, including its employment of “comfort women.”
Despite, or perhaps because of, Tokyo’s efforts, so-called history issues threaten to dominate much of the prime minister’s coming visit. That would unfortunately obscure a much more interesting set of developments in East Asia. The real story of Japan and its neighbors is not history but security.
Spurred on by China’s rising assertiveness and defense capabilities, Japan’s growing domestic appetite for a more “normal” international orientation, and the waning of postwar restrictions on its military activities, Tokyo has in recent years established an unprecedented pattern of security cooperation with its neighbors. Japan’s worries about the durability of America’s presence in Asia contribute to its desire to deepen and diversify regional defense ties, as does its impulse to balance deep economic integration with China with a more autonomous security policy.
Read the full piece at The Wall Street Journal.
More from CNAS
-
America and Japan in a Post-INF World
Commentary
How long do estimates suggest it would take the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force to destroy all major U.S. air, naval, and logistics bases in Japan? Some have argued that...
By Eric Sayers & Sugio Takahashi
-
Quad Restrictions: Addressing PRC Investment Concerns in the Indo-Pacific
Commentary
Washington has recently taken a tougher tack to growing inbound investment from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) by strengthening the Committee on Foreign Investment in th...
By Ashley Feng & Sagatom Saha
-
For Japan, a Winning Formula is Cyber Defense and Innovation Offense
Commentary
The already great and increasing importance of the cyber domain in strategic competition makes the need for Japan to advance its cyber-security and technology entrepreneurship...
By Krista Auchenbach & Daniel Kliman
-
No Safe Harbor
Reports
Introduction China is challenging America’s and Japan’s long-standing ability to uphold a peaceful order in the Asia-Pacific region. This is particularly true in the East and ...
By Patrick M. Cronin, Daniel Kliman & Harry Krejsa
