Sheila Smith: JAPAN'S MOVES ON TERRORISM WILL TEST PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR U.S. ALLIANCE

Date: 10-09-2001

The East-West Wire is a news service provided by the East-West Center in Honolulu. To see other recent East-West Wire stories, check http://www.eastwestcenter.org/events-en.asp

For more information, contact Susan Kreifels at 808-944-7176 or EastWestWire@EastWestCenter.org

JAPAN'S MOVES ON TERRORISM WILL TEST PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR U.S. ALLIANCE

***New East-West Center publication: "Japan's Uneasy Citizens and the U.S.-Japan Alliance," by Sheila Smith, research fellow in politics and security at the East-West Center, 8 pages. For PDF file, contact ewcbooks@EastWestCenter.org

HONOLULU (Oct. 9) -- Debate in Japan's parliament over Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's proposal to assist the United States in its war against terrorism reveals continued ambivalence in the country over using the military in the name of the alliance.

Support will depend on whether citizens believe such assistance contributes to their security, said Sheila Smith, an East-West Center specialist on U.S.-Japan relations. "Despite fears about terrorist reprisals, there seems to be a growing awareness that Japan must face the risks of acting in concert with the United States where its interests are engaged," Smith said. "Yet, it is important to observe how the debate in the Diet will restrict Prime Minister Koizumi's ability to be flexible over time with the use of Japan's military. The government will not be given carte blanche to use it in ways that challenge the existing Constitution."

Smith is author of a new East-West Center publication, "Japan's Uneasy Citizens and the U.S.-Japan Alliance." She writes that while U.S. and Japanese policymakers have successfully reaffirmed the U.S.—Japan security alliance since the end of the Cold War, a series of events has revealed a deeper ambivalence in Japan about the terms of the alliance.

These events began with the 1995 rape of a school girl in Okinawa by U.S. servicemen, focusing attention on the social costs to residents of hosting U.S. forces. In 1999 came North Korea’s launch of a missile over Japan, raising doubts among many Japanese about their alliance partner’s ability to protect them. Most recently, the outcome of the 2001 sinking of the Ehime Maru training ship by a U.S. nuclear sub seemed to many to sacrifice Japanese citizens’ interests to those of the U.S. military.

Together these events suggest "increasing impatience among Japan’s citizens with the way the alliance is managed. This disconnect between the public and policymakers could, if untended, have serious implications for the U.S.—Japan alliance."

In a meeting with President Bush last week, Koizumi discussed a seven-point proposal for assisting the United States in its war against terrorism, including the dispatch of the Japanese Self Defense Force to provide rear-area support for U.S. military forces in the Gulf.

Sheila Smith can be reached at 808-944-7427 or smiths@EastWestCenter.org

This is an East-West Wire, copyright East-West Center