United States – Japan relations
La American foreign policy in Asia-Pacific has been marked since World War II by its alliance with Japan; State that was defeated along with the Axis Powers.
After the banishment of Japanese ultranationalism and return to its original borders (those it had in 1895), the United States decided, instead of treating him as a subject, to make him a powerful ally in the face of the danger posed by the Soviet presence in the region.
Despite everything, the alliance between Japan and the US has varied over the years, in the same way that the international system has changed.
To understand the alliance context of these countries, it is important to first explain what the San Francisco system is, contextualizing the japanese military policy since the end of World War II.
Japanese military policy
After the country's defeat in 1945, a new Constitution was established (1947) whose fundamental principles were pacifism., as can be seen in its article 9: Sincerely aspiring to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as a means of resolving international disputes. In order to carry out the desire expressed in the preceding paragraph, no land, sea or air forces will be maintained from now on, nor will any other war potential. The right of belligerence of the State will not be recognized.
That is to say, Japan would have to depend on another international actor for its own defense: USA.
Another consequence of World War II was the cession of conquered territories through the land of the rising sun since 1914, date on which World War I began.
This is included in the Treaty of San Francisco, established in 1951 and that precedes the Cairo Conference. 49 countries participated in its preparation, in addition to Japan itself.
The most notable thing about it, in addition to the transfer of territories, is the fact that the country was forced to maintain friendly and business relations with the States that so wish.
The American case is the most striking, since the country went from having defeated status to ally status, a fact ratified by the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan along with the Yoshida Doctrine, which gave Japan a certain margin of safety.
San Francisco System
The US remained as main partner of Japan and was left in charge of its military policy, due to the Japanese pacifist attitude.
This allowed it to establish bases throughout the country and guarantee the American presence in the Far East, where the triumph of the communist revolution in China and the Korean War endangered the liberal international order.
View: The United States and Japan: more than allies
In 1957, Japan, despite its pacifist position, enacted a policy that guaranteed a minimum of security in self-defense, Basic National Defense Policy (due to the Nixon Doctrine that required Japan to take charge of its own defense to a greater extent), which specified certain conditions for the use of force, such as that the self-defense forces were purely defensive or that it would impose limits on the development of their capabilities military.
With this, he tried in a certain way to collaborate with the North American forces during the Cold War, in addition to trying not to depend as much as possible on the military forces of a foreign country.
American foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific revolved around Japan throughout this period, until in the 90s began to focus its forces on the Middle East.
For Japan, it was not positive as it meant they were not protected from an emerging China as not only an economic but also a military power, and a North Korea which was beginning to experiment with atomic weapons.
San Francisco System
Therefore, it is important to summarize the so-called “San Francisco System.”
This was based on a complete military support to Japan, in exchange for maintaining the North American presence in potentially Soviet territories (clear examples are China, North Korea or Vietnam).
Difference with the Transatlantic Treaty
The difference between this treaty and the Northern Transatlantic Treaty is clear: the Treaty of San Francisco was a treaty that established sanctions on Japan for having lost the war, while at the same time sowing the seed to establish the future US-Japanese alliance.
Instead, the Treaty that would give rise to NATO was established to jointly defend themselves against possible attacks by the USSR and its allies.
It was, like the agreements with Japan (although to reach these they proceeded in a totally different way), a way of allying against the enemy, against the communism.
US presence in the region
It is indisputable that the US presence in the region has been important for the relationship between Japan and many surrounding countries, such as South Korea.
First of all, you have to know the history of Japan and Korea (before their separation into two independent States).
Japan conquered the country at the beginning of the 20th century due to its expansionist policy, just as it also conquered the Philippines and a part of China (the island of Formosa and adjacent and the southern part of Fengtian province).
Therefore, with the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco, Japan returns to its limits before 1895 (the year in which it annexed the aforementioned Chinese areas), thus Korea regains its independence.
These years of Japanese rule were filled with atrocities. It is estimated that between 50.000 and 200.000 Korean women were used as ianfu (a euphemism for sexual slaves)
For these reasons, Korea's repudiation of Japan is still latent.
A fact that the US has taken advantage of to establish itself as a mediator between these two countries.
Again, a way to guarantee its permanence in Asia-Pacific. Thanks to the work of this country as an intermediary between two old enemies, conflicts and security dilemmas between them have been avoided.
Furthermore, the North American deterrent task It has served to control the Chinese military increase, which, for the moment, has not been justified.
For this reason, Japan (and also South Korea, although to a lesser extent) uses American bases with top-notch military technology to neutralize possible threats from the Asian giant.
The US strengthens its position in the Middle East
Despite everything, in the last years of the USSR, the US began to change its focus on the international level, giving more importance to the Middle East.
This fact highlighted the Japanese alliance, since by not having full American support they saw themselves vulnerable to threats in the area that, despite the disintegration of the USSR, had not disappeared.
This fact led Prime Minister Abe to make revisions and reinterpretations of the Constitution in order to increase their weapons and military power, always under the idea that it was in self-defense and with very strict conditions for its use.
This reform allowed Japan to participate in international peace missions and in wars such as the Gulf, although many criticized and accused the Japanese presence in this area of being mere diplomacy.
After this conflict, Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone approves the Cooperation Law for International Peacekeeping Operations, by which Japan could participate in international conflicts under the flag of the United Nations, and always with the concept of maintaining peace in the region.
Change in International Security
At the beginning of the 21st century, Japan sees a new change in International Security.
The North American terrorist threat and what is known as "war of terror" They make the United States decide to focus its military power in the Middle East, participating in conflicts such as the Iraq war (which they themselves created).
This is when Japan decides to participate in the conflict as a country and not under the UN flag.
Unprecedented fact in recent Japanese history, since it had not happened since its defeat in World War II; Therefore, this decision receives much national and international criticism.
View: What really is Japan's military power and influence?
United States – Japan relations in the Trump era
Finally, we will carry out a brief analysis of the relations between Japan and the US in the so-called “Trump era”. And it is that D.
Trump has been a whirlwind in the politics of the country of “freedom”, revolutionizing all “normalized” aspects to date.
An example that concerns us is that of his exit from the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) negotiations, which sought to establish trade agreements in the face of the threat of an increasingly powerful China.
This trade alliance emerged in the Obama era and sought to reestablish the US presence in the Asia-Pacific, but with the arrival of Trump to power and his policy of “America first”, relations with Japan and South Korea deteriorated.
Despite everything, Prime Minister Abe sought a way to gain the trust of Donald Trump himself, in order to try to lead him back to the Obama-era negotiations (The Diplomat, 2019).
US interests in the area remain strong, even more so now that China has surpassed the US as an economic power.
If in the era before the war of terror the interest in preserving its hegemony was great, today it must be even more so, especially taking into account Japanese foreign policy, which seems to seek to make Japan the hegemon of the region, little by little separating itself from American influence.
Japan has been debating two opposing positions for years: continue with your principle of pacifism set forth in the constitution or support, to a greater or lesser extent, nuclear development, yes, from a “self-defense” point of view.
It is important to remember that North Korea in recent years has been testing nuclear weapons very close to the Japanese coast.
Conlusion
To conclude, it is worth noting that today, Japan is about to normalize its military force.
Although there are some political (the pacifism of Japanese society) and legal (article 9 of the Constitution mentioned above) characteristics that prevent this general normalization, Japan can be considered de facto a regional power, and, therefore, set the direction of the area.
Concerns such as the Chinese military advance in the so-called “gray zone” or the nuclear preparation of its neighbor North Korea show that Japan no longer seeks to remain on the margins of the international arena shielded by its American partner, but instead seeks to carve out a space (enormous , since it would mean the control of one of the most important regions currently) within the international order.
Tokyo politics will undoubtedly influence Washington politics for years to come; This alliance will not end, but it will inevitably be reformed.
See: Priego, A., & Colom Piella, G. (2017). The defense of Japan and its strategic alliance with the United States. In Foreign Policy of Japan (pp. 21-40). Madrid, Spain: Comillas Pontifical University.
Internationalist from the UPO, and collaborator in Reáculoateypunto! I love talking about political and international issues, in addition to always being in constant search for information. Lover of travel, books and cultures, I am going to talk to you about everything that is worth telling.
