The Role of the US-Japan Alliance in a New Era

Ichiro Fujisaki,
Ambassador of Japan to the United States

  These days, people around the world are keeping a close eye on the progress of the election in this country. A few months ago, the Pew Research Center conducted a study. The following is the percentage figures of people who said they were interested in the US presidential election.

  56 for Germany

  And the top two were 80% for the US and 83% for Japan. So the Japanese are more interested than even Americans themselves in the American presidential election. Why? Because they feel close to Americans of course. But, moreover, because they know very well that it directly affects their everyday lives. Let us look at some examples.

  Security in Asia

 The fight against terrorism

 The fight against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

  Climate change

  The world economy

 Thus we continue to need strong American leadership in the coming years. We can work together more. I have three specific points to make in this regard.

 The first: Let us continue to broaden the support for our cause. Democracy, human rights including the freedom of speech, market economy, etc. We should spare no effort to ensure that the essential values in which we believe take root in young democracies. There may be countries which still have some problems, but as long as they try to bridge the gap from their side, we should work with them. We need not bend our principles. On the contrary, we should stay firm. However, the ‘Action for Action’ principle may be applied in many of these cases. The way we do this may differ at times. We may do things in concert or individually. But the basic cause and objectives, we share.

 The second: Let us use multilateral organizations as much as possible. The UN, related agencies, and other bodies. Japan will be ready to work with the US in the UN Security Council from next year. We continue to count on US support for the reform of the Council. Many international bodies were created with US initiatives. We need US participation and leadership in many of these areas, including those that the US has not joined yet. CTBT (Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty), the Human Rights Council, and of course the global framework for climate change.

 The third: Let us maintain and fortify the existing alliance and dialogues. At times, it is necessary to draw up a new design for dialogues, a new partnership. Sometimes it is needed to meet the changing environment. We should always review our systems to check if they are up to the needs of today. However, we should not forget that the very basis of today’s peace and prosperity is founded on the existing alliance and sets of dialogues. The Japan-US alliance is a good example. The G7/ G8 mechanism is not obsolete as some leaders or pundits like to sketch nowadays. We need to check our system and mend fences regularly to fight against the invasion of termites such as terrorism, global warming, proliferation of WMD, HIV/AIDS etc. It is like the annual health check up that we have every year.

 We can build on what we have as necessary. But we should hold on to what we have. In order to make maximum use of them, the prescription for us is sufficiently clear. To do more with allies and like-minded countries than with others—dialogues, exchanges, visits, consultations, cooperation. Consultations with like-minded countries should always precede meeting others and go more in depth than with others.

 Now, I have arrived at today’s theme: the new role of the Japan-US alliance. I will also make three points in this regard. First, our alliance is entering a new era. The present Japan-US Security Arrangements will reach its 50th anniversary in 2010. We will be consecutive chairs of APEC in 2010 and 2011. We can and should be working together in many different new areas. Africa, health, climate change, monetary issues. These agendas await us. Many of these are better dealt with together than individually. Some of them cannot be dealt alone. Monetary issues are a good example. Monetary issues truly need concerted action. The Japanese Government and the Central Bank are ready to work with the US and others. Japan’s private financial institutions as well are trying hard to prevent global turmoil. Prime Minister Aso has repeatedly said that we are ready to share our experiences—both the good and the bad. What we learned was that restoring credibility is not only the aim but also a tool for recovery. And we learned that, in this regard, transparency, fairness, concerted action and speed were indispensable. From the viewpoint of the Japanese who experienced the so-called lost decade, the US is responding very quickly.

 Second, the very foundation of the Japan-US alliance is credibility. To maintain this, both sides should strive to live up to the expectations of the other. I will not go into specific issues. l will only spell out the three NO’s which are essential in managing our alliance.

  Third, the deepening of people to people relations. In the last two decades, our relations have entered a very different stage. It is no longer a one-way street. Japanese people still watch Hollywood movies and eat hamburgers. They listen to American music, maybe not so much of Elvis Presley anymore, but they listen to the Jonas Brothers and others. But Japanese baseball players have started to play in this country. Ordinary American people are eating sushi regularly. And American parents, like Japanese parents, are concerned that their kids are spending too much time on Wii or manga. These are not government sponsored exchanges. They just happened because people love them. Today, around 70 % percent of Japanese people think of the US as a dependable ally. Also, around 70% percent of Americans think that Japan is trustworthy. I am certain that our two peoples will grow even closer. Now for those of you who thought I am terminating my long presentation, sorry, you are a little too optimistic. You will have to endure several minutes more with my favorite charts. This is to show you why Japan and the US can and should work together more.