The United States and Japan: Working Together on Global Challenges
| Date | March 14, 2008 |
| Location | The Henry L. Stimson Center 1111 19th Street NW, 12th Floor, Washington, DC 20036 |
With generous support from the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs in Japan,
Stimson hosted a symposium entitled "The United States and Japan: Working
Together on Global Challenges" on March 14, 2008.
At the seminar, former senior US government officials, representatives of
international institutions and non-government policy experts explored common global
security challenges confronting the US
and Japan
in off-the-record discussions. Issues addressed included changes in the global
security environment, the role of international institutions, the foreign
policy agenda for the next US
president, and regional security "hotspots.” Click here to see the full agenda.
The seminar wrapped
up with a public session that featured former US Air Force Chief of Staff
General Larry Welch (ret.) and Embassy of Japan Political Minister
Masafumi Ishii discussing how the US and Japan could collaborate on the global
challenges of the 21st Century. General Welch noted the complex
dynamism and fast pace of change that characterizes security threats in a
post-Cold War world, but also stressed that the US and Japan share a
number of key interests and mutual concerns. He argued that the US and Japan
must demonstrate more confidence in each other’s commitments to the alliance in
addressing such difficult issues as China-Taiwan and North Korea. General Welch also
identified failing states and nuclear proliferation as the primary challenges
facing the US and Japan in East Asia
and stressed the importance of preserving the credibility of American nuclear
deterrence as its stockpile decreases. He also stressed that nuclear stockpiles
must be safe, secure and reliable. General Welch added that the Cold War-era
belief that nuclear arsenals would make the US
safer is no longer a commonly shared view, but the US will still have to maintain a
minimum level of deterrence.
Minister
Ishii echoed that Washington and Tokyo have come a long
way in deepening their ties. He proposed that the US
and Japan
should take steps now to work towards announcing a joint declaration on a
global security partnership. Ishii noted that 2010 would be an ideal year for
such a declaration, explaining that not only will the two countries be celebrating
the 50-year anniversary of the US-Japan Mutual Security Treaty, but also that Japan is slated
to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) annual gathering that
year. Ishii stressed that APEC usually calls for the US
president to visit Japan
and that the issuance of such a joint declaration at that time would be the
most opportune. Minister Ishii stressed that, given the extent of common
interests between the US and Japan, he remains optimistic about the future of
the bilateral relationship, but he also proposed that the US-Japan alliance
should expand its scope both in terms of geographical reach as well as the
types of security issues being discussed under the framework of the alliance.
He contended that, while he believes that “hard” security issues (both regional,
i.e., cross-Strait and North Korea, and functional, i.e., nonproliferation)
will continue to be important items on the alliance agenda, enhanced
cooperation on non-traditional security concerns like climate change will also
increase in significance. During the discussion that followed their initial
remarks, both General Welch and Minister Ishii emphasized the necessity of
reaching out to China more to work with Beijing on regional and global issues.
They both suggested that the Americans, Japanese and Chinese have a set of
common interests and concerns and argued against devolving the Asia-Pacific
region into separate spheres of influence.
For more information, please contact Yuki Tatsumi at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
