The U.S.-Japan alliance lost another guardian. On May 6, the world learned that Dr. Joseph S. Nye Jr., who served during both the Carter and Clinton administrations, passed away. Longtime dean of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, Nye was first and foremost known as the leading thinker in the field of international politics after he joined Harvard University’s faculty in 1964. The book Power and Interdependence: World Politics in Transition (1977)—the book he co-authored with his fellow Harvard University faculty Robert O. Keohane, earned him the title of the “founder of neoliberalism.” More recently, he was known for his efforts to capture emerging forces in international relations, such as international organizations and multinational corporations, and putting them in a theoretical context. For example, he was one of the first scholars who identified soft power as a highly valuable yet often underappreciated tools of foreign policy.
For those of us who work to support the U.S.-Japan alliance, however, Nye had a much bigger and more special presence. As an intellectual partner of the late former Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage Jr., he argued strongly for sustaining a robust U.S.-Japan alliance. When he served in the Clinton Administration, he strongly advocated the need for the U.S. to remain engaged with its allies by likening security to oxygen—”you tend not to notice it until you begin to lose it, but once that occurs, there is nothing else that you will think about.” Anchored in this belief, he became the chief architect of the post-Cold War US-Japan alliance by working closely with Secretaries of Defense William J. Perry and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs when Washington and Tokyo embarked on redefining the bilateral alliance. The effort he spearheaded culminated in April 1996 when President Bill Clinton and his Japanese counterpart Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto announced “U.S.-Japan Joint Declaration of Security,” even though Nye had returned to his familiar life at Harvard University by then.
Commonly referred to as the Tokyo Declaration, the two leaders reaffirmed the enduring importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance. The declaration, redefining the U.S.-Japan alliance as “the cornerstone” of stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region, is the foundation on which the two governments continue to build its alliance relationship today.
Like Armitage, Nye was an exceptional mentor. Despite his extremely busy schedule and steading inflow of requests for meetings, he always made time to meet his students and other aspiring young scholars, at times, even over requests made by senior scholars.
I was one of those who benefited from his generosity. As my tenure at the Embassy of Japan as Special Assistant for Political Affairs was coming to an end, I decided to plan a work trip and focus my attention on U.S. policy toward Asia under the Clinton administration. President Clinton’s week-long trip to China had taken place not too prior and the U.S.-Japan alliance had just undergone a period of major transformation. I decided to interview those I believed had a deep wealth of knowledge on the topic, naturally including Nye on the list.
At first, my plan was met with suspicion. “You know, these are all very busy people, especially Nye,” I was told. “What will you do if no one can see you?” I was told Japanese consulates often have their request for meetings turned down. But I was undeterred and determined to try. I sent each scholar a short letter that introduced myself and explained why I wanted to meet with them.
To everyone’s surprise, most of them responded positively. From those I could not meet, I got a call from their office, with their assistants thanking me for my request and explaining why they could not see me. Nye not only agreed to meet with me—he made time for a full hour.
Despite a request on behalf of a more senior scholar, Nye prioritized our meeting, perhaps recognizing the clarity and intent behind my letter. When I checked in at the Consulate, I was advised to be careful what I say, because Nye must have chosen to see me because I was coming from the Embassy in Washington.
As I sat down with Nye, however, it quickly became clear why he agreed to make the time. “I decided to meet you because of the letter you sent,” he said, acknowledging that the letter showed the meeting would be meaningful to me. He then asked me how I ended up working at the embassy and what my future plans would be. The conversation felt like I was meeting my academic advisor about a paper I was writing in class. Toward the end, he said “I hope you will return to Japan someday. They will need more women like you. Change Japan.”
I must admit I failed to follow his advice on returning to Japan, but the larger lesson I took away from this meeting was to always make time for those who genuinely ask for advice. I try to follow that lesson to the best of my ability to this day.
Like with Armitage, I was one of the countless people Nye impacted during his career as an educator and a public servant that spanned over six decades. As the U.S.-Japan alliance navigates continued geopolitical pressures, those of us mentored by Nye and Armitage must carry their legacy forward.
Remembering Joseph Nye Jr., Another Guardian of the U.S.-Japan Alliance
By Yuki Tatsumi
Japan
The U.S.-Japan alliance lost another guardian. On May 6, the world learned that Dr. Joseph S. Nye Jr., who served during both the Carter and Clinton administrations, passed away. Longtime dean of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, Nye was first and foremost known as the leading thinker in the field of international politics after he joined Harvard University’s faculty in 1964. The book Power and Interdependence: World Politics in Transition (1977)—the book he co-authored with his fellow Harvard University faculty Robert O. Keohane, earned him the title of the “founder of neoliberalism.” More recently, he was known for his efforts to capture emerging forces in international relations, such as international organizations and multinational corporations, and putting them in a theoretical context. For example, he was one of the first scholars who identified soft power as a highly valuable yet often underappreciated tools of foreign policy.
For those of us who work to support the U.S.-Japan alliance, however, Nye had a much bigger and more special presence. As an intellectual partner of the late former Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage Jr., he argued strongly for sustaining a robust U.S.-Japan alliance. When he served in the Clinton Administration, he strongly advocated the need for the U.S. to remain engaged with its allies by likening security to oxygen—”you tend not to notice it until you begin to lose it, but once that occurs, there is nothing else that you will think about.” Anchored in this belief, he became the chief architect of the post-Cold War US-Japan alliance by working closely with Secretaries of Defense William J. Perry and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs when Washington and Tokyo embarked on redefining the bilateral alliance. The effort he spearheaded culminated in April 1996 when President Bill Clinton and his Japanese counterpart Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto announced “U.S.-Japan Joint Declaration of Security,” even though Nye had returned to his familiar life at Harvard University by then.
Commonly referred to as the Tokyo Declaration, the two leaders reaffirmed the enduring importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance. The declaration, redefining the U.S.-Japan alliance as “the cornerstone” of stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region, is the foundation on which the two governments continue to build its alliance relationship today.
Like Armitage, Nye was an exceptional mentor. Despite his extremely busy schedule and steading inflow of requests for meetings, he always made time to meet his students and other aspiring young scholars, at times, even over requests made by senior scholars.
I was one of those who benefited from his generosity. As my tenure at the Embassy of Japan as Special Assistant for Political Affairs was coming to an end, I decided to plan a work trip and focus my attention on U.S. policy toward Asia under the Clinton administration. President Clinton’s week-long trip to China had taken place not too prior and the U.S.-Japan alliance had just undergone a period of major transformation. I decided to interview those I believed had a deep wealth of knowledge on the topic, naturally including Nye on the list.
At first, my plan was met with suspicion. “You know, these are all very busy people, especially Nye,” I was told. “What will you do if no one can see you?” I was told Japanese consulates often have their request for meetings turned down. But I was undeterred and determined to try. I sent each scholar a short letter that introduced myself and explained why I wanted to meet with them.
To everyone’s surprise, most of them responded positively. From those I could not meet, I got a call from their office, with their assistants thanking me for my request and explaining why they could not see me. Nye not only agreed to meet with me—he made time for a full hour.
Despite a request on behalf of a more senior scholar, Nye prioritized our meeting, perhaps recognizing the clarity and intent behind my letter. When I checked in at the Consulate, I was advised to be careful what I say, because Nye must have chosen to see me because I was coming from the Embassy in Washington.
As I sat down with Nye, however, it quickly became clear why he agreed to make the time. “I decided to meet you because of the letter you sent,” he said, acknowledging that the letter showed the meeting would be meaningful to me. He then asked me how I ended up working at the embassy and what my future plans would be. The conversation felt like I was meeting my academic advisor about a paper I was writing in class. Toward the end, he said “I hope you will return to Japan someday. They will need more women like you. Change Japan.”
I must admit I failed to follow his advice on returning to Japan, but the larger lesson I took away from this meeting was to always make time for those who genuinely ask for advice. I try to follow that lesson to the best of my ability to this day.
Like with Armitage, I was one of the countless people Nye impacted during his career as an educator and a public servant that spanned over six decades. As the U.S.-Japan alliance navigates continued geopolitical pressures, those of us mentored by Nye and Armitage must carry their legacy forward.
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