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JAPAN'S FOREIGN POLICY.   Term Paper ID:29353 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Need for Japan to become less dependent on the United States.... More...

8 Pages / 1800 Words 8 sources, 16 Citations, MLA Format $32.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Need for Japan to become less dependent on the United States. Argues that Japan should shift its foreign policy posture to become increasingly independent of U.S. power. American protectiveness of Japan's political system during the Cold War. Insulation of Japan from the realities of geopolitical responsibility. Paper Introduction: It is in Japan’s interests to fundamentally shift its foreign policy posture so as to become less dependent on, and less subordinate to, the United States. Japan would be better off if it were to become a more independent “normal” nation. That thesis represents a conclusion reached as a consequence of reviewing a body of political-science literature that indicates the potential for Japan to become increasingly independent of US power and that suggests more obvious Japanese independence can serve both Japan and the US well. In recent years, it has been asserted in the literature that Japan ought to “come into its own” on a more aggressive basis than has been the case since World War II. For example, ` makes a case for the idea that a thoroughly independent and strong Japan “is in America’s best interests” (39), even though there Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. In recent years, it has been asserted in the literature that Japanought to "come into its own" on a more aggressive basis than has been thecase since World War II. Kozo Yamamura. The problem,basically, is perceived as being that Japan has ignored the impulses forchange, and "waiting until the last moment to change has only narrowedtheir [Japanese institutions tied to traditions] avenues of escape" (Helweg37). usually reserved for the family orreligion" (125) is useful here. . Prestowitz, Jr. Concealment is the common factor in either case, but variousimplications arise from it based on the reasons for it. Washington, D.C.: Economic Strategy Institute, 1998. Johnson pointsout (135f) that much about the day-to-day activities of Japanese social andeconomic life--such as the high saving rate among consumers, connectionbetween thriftiness and industrial capacity and relatively collegiallabor/management relations--may have something to teach American businessand consumer-economy practices. Thefirst is that Japan may be obliged to conceal actual policy preferencesbehind a screen of international cooperation with the Americans. 213- 4 . However, a Japan thatreceives international legitimacy solely through its association with USpolitical, legal, or economic apparatus would seem very much at risk oflosing prestige and credibility in respect of other nations. One proof of that is the recent Americandeclaration that nations that are not "with" the US in its war on terrorismmay be considered "against" it. Inevitably, thismeans that myriad Japanese and US interests in Asia would have to beaddressed. For example, ` makes a case for the idea that athoroughly independent and strong Japan "is in America's best interests"(39), even though there is a possibility that Japan may reconfigure itsgeopolitical interests or even pursue foreign alliances inside Asia that tosome degree eliminate the need or desire for US influence. And it would have to be acknowledged from the outset thatJapanese and American interests might not always converge. Green cites the threat that North Korea poses to regionalstability in East Asia (Green 251) as sufficient reason for the US to shoreup Japanese power in the region. At thesame time, that insulation could have been perceived as positioning Japanas a threat to Asian security. "From Sword to Chrysanthemum: Japan's Culture of Anti- militarism." International Security 17 (Spring 1993): 119-15 .Green, Michael. New York: Japan Center for International Exchange, 1999. One reason that Japan's interests would be served if it were lessperceived as an American client state in the geopolitical arena is thatabsence of independence implies an absence of geopolitical honesty that maynot serve it very well over the long haul. But that does not necessarily mean that Japan's apparent reluctance toexpand for self-interest did not have unintended consequences. "The Challenges of Managing U.S.-Japan Security: Relations After the Cold War." New Perspectives on U.S.-Japan Relations. Berger was accurate in predicting theAmerican perception that Japan as an economic power and not the formerSoviet Union as a depleted military power was the bigger threat to theAmerican way of life. New York: Japan Center for International Exchange, 1999. Japan was more or less coerced intosupporting American activities in Asia in view of contemplation of thewithdrawal of an American presence in Japan, given the well-known ambitionsof the People's Republic of China and North Korea to dominate Asian tradeand politics. However, the consensus seems to be that Japan has avoidedthe prospect of change. . 125-4 ."Restoration in Progress: A Survey of Business in Japan." The Economist 27 November 1999: 3-18.Uriu, Robert. Johnson points out that anAmerican-imposed royalty on Japanese imports could dampen American demandfor those goods, which could force Japanese attention to structuring avariety of forms of economic independence (131). 1 5-36.Mochizuki, Mike M. The trouble is, thatpolicy would not necessarily spur demand for American-made goods of thesame kind. Consider themore recent American articulations about the current "war on terrorism,"which declare that nations that are not "with" the US are "against" it.Cooperating with international criminal investigations may make perfectsense, politically, socially, economically, morally, etc. That hasimplications for the stability of Japan's domestic governing institutions.Berger's insight into the structure of Japanese social culture as one thathas diminished a centralized/nationalist ethos in favor of "a remarkablecapacity to create highly efficient organizations to which individualsdevelop a degree of loyalty . This argues the benefit ofseizing the initiative rather than retreating to a position of being drivenby events. Seattle: Society for Japanese Studies, 1998. The record of US military personnel being arrested for sex attacks onJapanese children does not especially encourage the idea that US andJapanese political interests in Asia will always coincide. That is, Japanese deviationfrom the American line of thought could well be perceived in the US asbetrayal and ingratitude. But in the context of Vietnam and afterward, when the modeand means of fighting wars shifted, Japan's strategic significance wasdownplayed and its economic realities and potentialities became ascendant(Johnson 135f). It is in Japan's interests to fundamentally shift its foreign policyposture so as to become less dependent on, and less subordinate to, theUnited States. If lack of geopolitical independence on Japan's part may be said fromone point of view to place a burden on Japan, from another point of view itenables and encourages covert political and social behavior. TheEconomist's remark that Japan's accounting rules "allowed firms to hidetheir problems instead of facing them" (9) is also instructive to theextent it illustrates the enabling power of not overtly taking a policy"posture." But concealment is a temporary, not permanent strategy, and tothe degree covert activity in Japan is "exposed" via scandal, Japan as alocus of political control and social stability faces a loss of prestige.That is why political scandals are so damaging. This involves institutional andcultural change. Japan would be better off if it were to become a moreindependent "normal" nation. The question of US-Japanese relations inthe event North Korea ever attacked South Korea is even more problematic.In that regard, South Korea has made plain that "no matter what happens ontheir peninsula [including invasion from the north] they do not want helpof any sort from the Japanese" (Johnson 123). But in the context of international political economy, the hard truthis that the likelihood of Japan's positioning itself as a truly independentplayer seems remote. Rather, dampened demand for Japanese goods might lead to awithdrawal of demand for all goods across the board, fostering "globalrecession and disaster for high-debt developing countries" (Johnson 131).Anticipation of global recession, argues Johnson, has the effect ofenabling Japan to claim that it is being victimized by US attempts tosingle out its goods for unfavorable trade treatment, even as it benefitsfrom Cold War politics, whereby Japan is perceived as a US client statebecause of its geographical strategic position vis-à-vis the USSR. Asia: After the 'Miracle.'" Ed. 241-64.Helweg, M. The secondis that Japan may be enabled to conceal such preferences behindcooperation. Berger cites that characteristic in orderto downplay the idea of nationalist remilitarization along pre-World War IIlines, but London's Economist cites the strength of employee("stakeholder") loyalty to such entities as Fuji and Toyota (1 ). Selig S. "The Impact of Policy Ideas: Revisionism and the Clinton Administration's Trade Policy Toward Japan." Perspectives on U.S.-Japan Relations. Leaving aside the fact that Japan might become a target ofterrorist operatives because of its association with the US (a bad enoughscenario), a Japan dominated by what Berger characterizes as a culture ofantimilitarism (148 et passim) might be unable to step in to fill the voidleft by US redeployment. Lower-priced Japanese goods inure to the benefit of Japanese suppliers andpenalize American suppliers of those same goods. Harrison and Clyde V. 1 9-124.---. Indeed, it isprobable that Japanese and American interests would coincide whereinternational terrorism is concerned. Instead, more attention should be paid to "integrating theeconomic, diplomatic, and military dimensions of foreign policy into acoherent East Asian seurity strategy" (Mochizuki 138). Two related but distinct thingsgo on at the same time when Japanese foreign policy posture consistentlyreflects its reliance on--or acquiescence in--US policy decisions. Washington, D.C.: Economic Strategy Institute, 1998. "Trade, Revisionism, and the Future of Japanese-American Relations." Japan's Economic Structure: Should It Change? But suppose US forces were stretchedto the limit and the US were to either request significant assistance fromJapan or withdraw something of its military presence there to pursue (say)a war in Iraq. To put it another way: Japan could bemarginalizing domestic self-interests associated with protecting itspopulation, subordinating itself to an American law-enforcement orinternational-justice agenda--not because the US intends harm to Japan butbecause of US commitments to its own security. Johnson (1 9-11 ) cites the squalid cases on Okinawa in that regard. If Japan has anything to teach the US about appropriate social andeconomic priorities, it also incurs the obligation of articulating itsstrengths and explaining its weaknesses. "A New U.S.-Japan Security Bargain." Asia: After the 'Miracle.'" Ed. Japan has benefited from US reluctance to impose asurcharge/tariff on Japanese goods plainly dumped on the US market, with aview toward achieving international market share (Johnson 13 ff). That has led to a dire prediction of the future ofJapan's ability to affect beneficial results in the country. However, both Green and Johnson questionwhether a dependent Japan could be relied upon to continually support USpolicy in Asia, if that policy included support of US commitment to protectTaiwan against invasion by the PRC, or protecting the safety ofinternational navigation in Asia. It seems unlikely that the official US apparatus of internationalsecurity and/or foreign-trade policy would seize on a lack of meaningfulprogress in Japanese trade negotiations to enunciate the idea that Japanwere no longer a useful or trustworthy US ally. Harrison and Clyde V. Green argues that American protectiveness of Japan's political systemduring the Cold War had the effect of insulating Japan from the realitiesof geopolitical responsibility in a perilous international arena. According to Berger,writing in 1993 (12 f), Japan was unlikely to pursue military developmentfor internal cultural reasons. For most of the 2 th century this meant that Japan wasfocused on Cold War security and political stability (134ff). But given the structure of Americanculture, it would appear that little can be taught which does not proceedfrom a distinctive identity, a defensible point of view. As matters turned out over the course of the 199 s,however, Japan's economic condition worsened as that of the US dramaticallyimproved, which would have made exapansionist militarism problematic hadJapan desired to pursue it. Selig S. A side issue is thatdependency must be said to foster expectations. Elsewhere, Johnson makes the case that, as a matter of fact, Japaneseeconomic policy over the course of the 198 s and 199 s was by and largepointed in the direction of geopolitical and trade independence from the UShegemon and release of Japan from the dreadful yoke of developing-nationstatus (132-33). According toMochizuki, Japan and the US should not be sidetracked by the overwhelminghistorical attention paid to the importance of the US military presence inJapan, the structure of which he blames in part for the messy sex-crimeincidents. Ed. The view that Japanand the US are best served to the degree they present a united position onthe variety of issues affecting their national populations vis-à-vis therest of the world becomes problematic if the Japanese and US governmentscooperate in covering up the details of nasty sex crimes. It turnedout, however, that economic and not military or security issues preoccupiednation-state planners, when it was in the economic arena that Japan hasexhibited the most independence. To the degree Japan disagrees with the US on a given American policybut is obliged to conceal its preferences, the implication is that Japan isa second-class state vis-à-vis the US: Japan is economically dependent;Japan's political institutions are incapable of governing the Japanese;Japan lacks foreign-policy expertise that the US has; Japan supportsAmerican priorities and behavior in (for example) Asia even though USbehavior may have unintended consequences for Japan. Works CitedBerger, Thomas U. "Ending Japan's Protectorate Status. "Japan: A Rising Sun?" Foreign Affairs 79 (2 ): 26-39.Johnson, Chalmers. To the degree it can articulateits strengths in terms of is uniqueness and not in terms of its clientstatus in connection with the US, Japan is more likely to make a crediblecase for the view that its independence serves itself and its status as aninternational player beneficially. That thesis represents a conclusion reached asa consequence of reviewing a body of political-science literature thatindicates the potential for Japan to become increasingly independent of USpower and that suggests more obvious Japanese independence can serve bothJapan and the US well. Prestowitz, Jr. For the US after World War II and wellinto the 196 s, Japan was seen as a strategic geopolitical icon andprotectorate. Helweg'srationale is that it is only in the context of independence from US supportthat Japan's major institutions, whether political or corporate, can testthe integrity of its real strengths. Diana. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.