US-Japan Alliance: Past, Present and Future
| Date | Wednesday, March 4, 2009 |
| Location | The Henry L. Stimson Center 1111 19th Street, 12 Floor Washington, DC 20036 |
The
US-Japan alliance has undergone a great deal of evolution since 1996.
The revision of the US-Japan Guideline for Defense Cooperation was a
critical part of the alliance in the 1990s. However, there were works
that were left undone at that time due to various circumstances,
political and otherwise. Has such a circumstance changed in the last
ten years so that the alliance managers in Tokyo and Washington can
being to address the unfinished business? What are the remaining
challenges?
This was the context of a roundtable discussion at the Stimson Center on Wednesday, March 4, 2009, featuring Lieutenant General Noboru Yamaguchi, JGSDF (ret.), and moderated by Yuki Tatsumi, Senior Associate, Stimson Center.
General Yamaguchi started his presentation with an overview of the recent evolution of the US-Japan relationship in the last fifteen years and how this has been redefined at various times. He pointed to the expanded cooperation and emphasis on the relationship throughout the 1990s, with the National Defense Program Outline in 1995, and the Joint Security Declaration between President Clinton and Prime Minister Hashimoto in 1996. Furthermore, in post 9/11 efforts, he noted Japan's increased JSDF operations as a result of the Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Laws for both Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. These efforts developed further areas for defense cooperation, in addition to the expanded research and development program for ballistic missile defense that both countries continued to be heavily involved in during this time period.
In assessing areas for present and future cooperation, General Yamaguchi identified the Common Strategic Objectives outlined by the US-Japan Joint Security Consultative Committee in February 2005, identifying regional objectives related to cooperative engagement with China, and managing North Korea, and global objectives centered on peacekeeping and non-proliferation. He also provided further analysis of the fifteen specific areas for the alliance in the future outlined in another Security Consultative Committee Document "US-Japan Alliance: Transformation and Realignment for the Future" in October 2005. In particular, he noted the substantial overlap in the areas for cooperation between the US and Japan, with missions related to the Proliferation Security Inititiative, reconstruction efforts, counterterrorism, and other areas of international peace cooperation.
In concluding his presentation, General Yamaguchi outlined urgent issues that need to be resolved between the US and Japan to ensure that the alliance continues to go from strength to strength. The urgent issues that he identified included the need to go forward with the Futenma replacement facility, modernization of JASDF equipment, the need for a national debate on Japan's involvement in Afghanistan, and adopting a harmonzied approach between both countries on the issues of non-proliferation and the extended deterrent. He noted that the current domestic political chaos in Japan should be no excuse in ensuring that these issues are addressed, and that the long term future of the US-Japan alliance continues to evolve to meet new and emerging challenges, both regionally and globally.
For further information, please email Yuki Tatsumi (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)).
The views expressed by Lieutenant
General Noboru Yamaguchi in the presentation are his own, and do not
reflect the views of the Japan Self-Defense Force, Japan Ministry of
Defense, or The Henry L. Stimson Center.
Speaker Biography - LTG Noboru YAMAGUCHI
Lieutenant General, JGSDF (ret.) graduated from the National Defense Academy and joined the Japan Ground Self Defense force as an army aviator in 1974. He finished the Command and General Staff Course of the JGSDF Staff College in 1983. He received his MA at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University in 1988, and was a National Security Fellow at John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies, Harvard University in 1991-1992. After serving as Senior Defense Attaché at the Japanese Embassy in the United States (1999-2001), he has held positions as Deputy Commandant of the JGSDF Aviation School (2001-2002), Director for Research of the GRDC (2002-2005), and Vice President of the National Institute for Defense Studies (2005-2006). Since 2006 he held responsibilities as Commanding General of the JGSDF Research and Development Command until his retirement from active duty on 1 December 2008. He will join the faculty of the National Defense Academy in April 2009.
General Yamaguchi's recent writings include "Japan and China: Towards a 'Strategic Relationship for Mutual Benefit' from 'Politically Cold but Economically Warm' Relations," in China Rising: Reactions, Assessments, and Strategic Consequences, Strategic Yearbook 2007, edited by Bo Huldt et al. (Sweden: Swedish National Defense College, 2008); "US Defence Transformation and Japan's Defense Policy," in RUSI Journal (London: Royal United Services Institute, 2006); "The U.S.-Japan Security Relationship in Transition," in IRI Review (Seoul: Ilmin International Relations Institute, Korea University, 2005); "Soldiers, Civilians, and Scholars: Making Sense of the Relationship Between Civil-Military Relations and Foreign Policy," with David A. Welch, in Asian Perspective, edited by Gil Latz, (Institute for Far Eastern Studies, Kyungnam University & Hatfield School of Government, Portland State University, 2005).