What Factors Are Driving Japan and the U.S. Toward a Closer Relationship?

Last week, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida came to the U.S. for a state visit. The trip, which also included a meeting with President Joe Biden, underscores the importance of relations between Japan and the U.S. for both parties.

Since World War II, Japan and the U.S. have been close allies, but one factor is driving the two countries even closer together: China. China’s looming threat may make a U.S.-Japan alliance more crucial than ever.

In a January op-ed at The Japan Times, Brad Glosserman notes that 2024 could be a pivotal year for relations between Japan and the U.S. He cites Kishida’s scandal-plagued administration, further instability within Japan’s political infrastructure, and the presidential election here in the U.S. He writes that this year could “test the alliance.”

However, while Glosserman thinks that a second Donald Trump term could jeopardize the relationship between the U.S. and Japan for some reason, Jay Aeba of the Japanese Conservative Union believes that Trump will be good for the alliance. Why? Because Trump and Japan are on the same page regarding China.

The threat that China poses to Asian (and global) stability could forge an even stronger bond between the two nations. The Heritage Foundation’s Bruce Klingner points out that Japan has grave concerns not only about China’s saber-rattling over Taiwan but also over North Korea’s increasing threat.

“Tokyo fears that it could be drawn into a Taiwan conflict either indirectly, given its proximity, or directly if China were to attack U.S. bases in Japan that were being used as staging points to defend Taiwan,” Klingner writes. “Japan assesses that North Korea is an ‘even more grave and imminent threat to Japan’s national security than ever before’ because of the regime’s continued augmentation of its nuclear and missile arsenal. Tokyo has declared that North Korea’s actions ‘significantly undermine the peace, stability, and security of the region and the international community.’”

Japan and the U.S. have long been intertwined in ensuring the safety of East Asia and the Pacific. Kenneth Weinstein notes at RealClearWire that security partnership is a key component of any attempts to keep China at bay.

“Japan is already playing a central role in meeting our nation’s principal strategic challenge: the threat posed by the People’s Republic of China, especially the defense of Taiwan,” Weinstein writes. “More American troops – 54,000 – are stationed in Japan than any other foreign country, along with a significant proportion of the equipment and materiel needed for Taiwan’s defense.”

Now, Japan wants to beef up its defense forces, which is an unprecedented move for the post-war nation. There’s a lot of history behind that, as Dr. Albert Mohler explained on his podcast Monday morning:

As a matter of fact, Japan is now looking at changing its defense posture. Because ever since World War II, and its defeat by the Allies in that horrifying conflagration of World War II, given Japanese militarism, a part of what was creating the Japanese future after the Second World War, and its absolute defeat, a part of that picture was a non-military posture or identity to be undertaken by a modern Japan. Now, there couldn’t be absolutely no military force, because as you’re looking at Japan, you understand as a nation, it has to have a certain amount of that kind of defensive ability, even if just to protect its coastlines and its waters.
And so Japan has had a minimal defense force. But Japan has been building it up over the years. And most recently, there was a signed agreement between the United States and Japan, also including the Philippines, potentially being expanded to say, Australia, New Zealand, and other nations, that vastly increases the military coordination between the United States and Japan. And then add in the Philippines and any others who eventually sign this agreement. But the big signal is this. Japan is very quietly really transforming itself from a self-defensive military posture, into something that will be far more formidable there in the Asian theater.

Japan is doing this because it feels the heat coming from China and North Korea, and it needs a stronger relationship with the U.S. Bloomberg’s editorial board even suggests that Japan could become our most important and cherished ally.

“A confident, capable Japan — bolstered by advanced technological capabilities and an economy shaking off decades of stagnation — could potentially supplant Britain as the U.S.’s most important strategic partner,” the board opines.

Weinstein agrees: “For far too long, Japan spoke softly but failed to carry a big stick. Now, by speaking softly, it has enhanced American diplomacy. By starting to carry its own sticks, Japan is both enhancing the U.S.-Japan alliance and making a significant contribution to Indo-Pacific security. We would expect nothing less from our most important ally.”

As a Japanophile, the idea of a stronger relationship between the U.S. and Japan appeals to me. But what Japan needs from an alliance with the U.S. is a strong, trustworthy American partner, which we don’t have with the Biden administration in charge of our foreign policy.

This is why replacing Biden in the White House with Trump benefits not just us but our allies, and it’s why this election is so important. The stakes have rarely been higher, and that’s why the left tries to suppress and censor outlets like PJ Media.

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