The Eye of the beholder: Background notes on the US-Japan military relationship

Abstract

In the last half century, the pivotal steps in American-Japanese relations have been paced off at roughly ten-year intervals. At the Washington Conference of 1921-1922, American and other Western pressure brought about cancellation of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance and forced Japan to rely upon uncertain international guarantees for its security. The Manchurian Incident of 1931 dispelled the professed hopes of the twenties, and a full decade later Pearl Harbor marked the total bankruptcy of Japan's relationship with the West. At the San Francisco peace conference in 1951, America led forty-eight other nations in restoring Japan's sovereignty, and five hours after the signing of the peace treaty the U.S. summoned forth shades of the old Anglo-Japanese Alliance by signing its own bilateral military pact with Japan. Nine years later, nationalistic resentment against this security arrangement of 1951 erupted in Japan, forcing cancellation of President Eisenhower's proposed visit. Now another decade has passed, and 1970 is clearly destined to mark yet another watershed in the American-Japanese relationship.     

Political Change in America and Implications for the US-Japan Alliance

This article examines the domestic political dynamics behind US president Donald Trump’s “America First” approach to trade and foreign policy, to understand better how long this strain of American economic nationalism might last and what it means for Japan’s national security strategy. The political base for Trump’s trade protectionism and apparent indifference to allies has roots stretching back into American history, but this movement has strengthened in recent years due to a combination of growing economic inequality in the United States, demographic changes, and the impact of fast-paced technology development and economic globalization. These political trends are likely to persist beyond Trump’s presidency, although some potential negative effects on Japan and the US-Japan alliance in the medium-to-longer term can be mitigated by Japan’s proactive foreign policy and other steps. The alliance still offers a great deal of value to both countries—now and into the future—but Japan should consider a slightly larger global leadership role in concert with others, even as the allies work to enhance their continued cooperation on shared interests.     

Okinawa and American Colonialism

Abstract

The Ryukyus, surrounded on three sides by major powers of East Asia, are the most strategic outpost of freedom in the Far East. Known as the “Keystone of the Pacific,” Okinawa, the most important island is 800 nautical miles southwest of Tokyo, 325 nautical miles northeast of Taipei, 750 nautical miles northeast of Manila and 700 nautical miles northeast of Hong Kong.     

日美同盟的历史演变及其对亚太安全的影响

日美同盟在二战后大致经历了"威权同盟"、"互助同盟"和"伙伴同盟"三个阶段,这一同盟之所以能够长期存在并不断发展,究其原因,是双方在亚太地区甚至全球范围内有不断交迭和发展变化的共同战略利益.同盟中的美日两国既相互倚重,又彼此制约,同盟性质也随国际形势的变化不断发生着嬗变.21世纪,随着美国亚太战略的不断调整和日本的日益强大,日美同盟将对亚太格局的形成与塑造产生重要影响.     

Playing Base Politics in a Global Strategic Theater: Futenma Relocation,the G-8 Summit,and Okinawa

In late 1995, a culmination of events on Japan's southernmost island of Okinawa, home to over 70 percent of U.S. military facilities in Japan, both threatened the future of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty and posed a direct challenge to the contradictory legacies of Japan's postwar system of constitutional democracy. Almost five years later, in July 2000, in anticipation of the gathering of heads of state at the Okinawa 2000 G-8 Summit, Bill Clinton became the first U.S. president to visit the island in over forty years. Speaking at the Cornerstone of Peace, a monument built in memory of the only ground war fought on Japanese soil between Japanese and U.S. forces in World War II, Clinton reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance – and Okinawa's role within it – to peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region. Yet in Okinawa the nature and constitution of peace itself has never been a political given. This article traces the politics surrounding the U.S. military presence over this period, delving into the deeper historical, political, and social issues at stake for both this small island prefecture and for parts of the world beyond.     

美国单边主义笼罩下西方同盟体系的嬗变--九一一后日美同盟与德美同盟的比较研究

九一一后,在美国国内及其主要盟友的支持下,美国支配和塑造世界政治的能力骤然上升到近年来从未有的高度。但随着时间的推移及美国霸权主义甚嚣尘上,西方同盟体系已经和正在发生着重大变化,美国支配世界的能力也大不如前。本文选取美日、美德两个同盟为案例进行比较研究,以期探讨这一变化的深层原因。文章认为,不同的文化背景、历史经历、国际环境和国内政治因素,最终导致日、德两国对西方同盟体系采取不同的政策。随着世界政治经济的发展,西方同盟体系必将发生进一步分化,美国的霸权也决非没有界限。     

The Sacrifice Of A Schoolgirl: The 1995 Rape Case,Discourses of Power,and Women's Lives in Okinawa

In September 1995 relations between the United States, Japan, and Okinawa were transformed when three U.S. servicemen brutally gang-raped a twelve-year-old schoolgirl. Okinawan feminists called public attention to the rape, but it wasn't long before the media and political leaders shifted their focus to concerns about Okinawa's colonial history and its postwar occupation by the United States. A crisis of sovereignty replaced the crisis for women and a particular girl, which gradually faded from view, as did the agenda of feminist activists. Through an examination of Okinawa's contentious identity politics, the author traces the political trajectories of Okinawa's component groups and asks why this particular crime, in a long list of crimes against Okinawans by U.S. personnel since 1945, resonates so strongly both in Okinawa and in mainland Japan. The author argues that the rape has been enlisted for its powerful symbolic capacity: Okinawa as sacrificed schoolgirl/daughter. As such it is emblematic of past, prior narratives of Okinawan victimhood, most notably the Himeyuri students in the Battle of Okinawa. Feminists' cooperation in a patriarchal language that posits Okinawa as daughter within a national Japanese family is problematic but necessary as a strategy in the fight for women's human rights.     

The problem of the straits

Siberian Development and East Asia. Threat or Promise? By Allen S. Whiting. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. 1981. Pp. 276. Index, notes, maps. Price $22.50 (hardback).     

Reflections on the Mosul problem

Summary

It now becomes possible to summarize our conclusions on the Brussels Line:

1. It does not fulfil the object of British policy completely in that it surrenders to Turkey the control of Assyrian destinies. It does, however, provide for the establishment and security of an ‘Iraq state sufficient to assure our own security.

2. The frontier does not, and cannot, satisfy the linguistic, racial, and religious requirements of a good frontier owing to the chaotic intermixture of these elements in its vicinity.

3. It is not strategically the best frontier for ‘Iraq, but it is sufficiently defensible to guarantee the security of the ‘Iraq state. It is economically sound.

4. It satisfies the political desires of the minorities concerned, except those of the Kurd and Assyrian.

     

Hongkong Chinese emigration and investment patterns in response to the 1997 problem

The transfer of Hongkong from British to PRC sovereignty has resulted in an apparently large outflow of Hongkong Chinese emigrants and investments abroad. The outflow is motivated by a variety of causes: Political fear, uncertainty, and economic considerations. These motivations in turn are mediated by the socio-economic position of potential migrants, their preference for developed. Western, liberal, English-speaking countries and the interplay of these factors with the international institutional system of legal migration. Because of these factors, the possibility of Communist rule after 1997 has in fact generated not a single response from Hongkong Chinese, but a variety of different responses. They range from economically eligible migrants choosing to stay and invest in Hongkong to outright emigration and divestment.     

Paradoxes of internationalisation of the Anglophone problem in Cameroon

Historically it is not strange that the Anglophone elites in Cameroon took their case to the international community, since this was a strategy that they employed during the British colonial period. A number of petitions and constant visits were made to the United Nations (UN) by Anglophone elites concerning British neglect of their territory. These petitions were made in the form of presentations before the United Nations in New York or whenever there was a visiting UN mission to the trust territory. Nonetheless, since the early 1990s, the pattern of petitions has changed drastically. Petitions against the new state are different from those earlier petitions against colonialism. The aim of the petitions against the new state has been to draw the attention of the UN and the international community to the injustices inflicted upon minority English-speaking Cameroonians by the ruling government. The Anglophone elites believe that, by making their plight known to the international community, the latter might intervene to restore the statehood of Southern Cameroons.     

政官关系与日本民主党政权的政策决定

基于“政治主导”的政治理念,民主党政权在政策决定过程领域推行政官关系变革。历经鸠山内阁、菅内阁与野田内阁,随着政官关系变革态势的减弱并遭受顿挫,民主党政权的政策决定过程反复变化。政官关系定位不准,不仅导致民主党政权的政策决定过程反复变化,也削弱了其决策效益与执政能力。