A Letter to the Editor: A new era of Japanese foreign policy

This year, Japan and the United States are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their landmark Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security. While ties between the two countries remain strong, the relationship is poised for significant change.

The U.S.-Japan Security Treaty was signed at the height of the Cold War and created an alliance that former U.S. Senator and Ambassador to Japan Mike Mansfield characterized as "the most important alliance in the world, bar none."

At the time, Japan was seen as a lone democracy in the hostile Asian region and an important ally for the United States to help contain the Soviet Union. For 50 years, through good times and bad, the two allies have expanded the friendships between their peoples and supported their respective governments in international affairs.

For 50 years, the alliance, while valued by both sides, was often taken for granted.

No longer.

In its campaign last summer, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) pledged to re-examine its treaty obligations; in particular, the 2006 agreement to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture. Now, with the DPJ controlling the government, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is asking very hard questions of Washington for the first time in 50 years.

From the perspective of this long-time observer of Japan, as well as from many key policymakers in Washington and Tokyo, this close scrutiny may be a very good thing. Both nations are best served by a strong, independent Japan that takes greater initiative in international politics. A more assertive Japan will mean a stronger ally for the United States in the most economically and strategically important region of the world.

The era of "Japan-passing" is over, if it ever existed. After years of cultivating a relatively low profile in international politics, Japan is now positioned to become a leader in international affairs. There are three primary reasons for this shift, one that has to do with domestic politics and two that are due to changes in geopolitics.

The rise of the DPJ to power and the relegation of the long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party to opposition status have significantly shaken up old ways of doing things in Tokyo. This political transition, while a bit bumpy in the beginning, offers Japan the political opportunity to recreate its global image and reposition itself as a major player in international politics.

The rise of China as a major player in international politics has heightened the strategic importance of Japan. Since the end of the Cold War, U.S. governments have sometimes acted as if they could bypass Japan and deal directly with China. Subsequent years have demonstrated that while China is not an enemy, neither is it a close friend. For centuries, Japan has viewed itself as a bridge between the East and the West, and China's rise has given new relevance to that longstanding role.

Finally, many issues on which Japan has long been active, such as global climate change and nuclear nonproliferation, have taken on greater international salience in recent years. With the recent COP15 conference in Copenhagen, the world is finally focused on the vital issue of the environment, and as one of the countries with the newest technologies and one of the best policy records, Japan is well positioned to become a leader in this area.

Similarly, as the only victim of a nuclear attack, nuclear nonproliferation has long been an important cause for the Japanese. When U.S. President Barack Obama declared last April in Prague that the United States is committed to a "world without nuclear weapons," he brought this issue to the forefront of international politics. As with the environment, this is an issue area in which Japan has considerable experience.

The United States and Japan have some tricky negotiations to conduct regarding the Futenma air base, but their alliance is strong at its core and far too important for these negotiations to fail.

Japanese leadership in international politics is predicated upon a strong alliance with the United States. Once a satisfactory agreement on the base issue has been made, the DPJ will be well positioned to lead Japan into a new era where it serves as a global leader, contributing to the development of a more sustainable, peaceful world for all of us.

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Mary Alice Haddad

An assistant professor of government at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.