PARADE Magazine
Articles
Is America Neglecting A Good Friend?
January 12, 2003
For nearly 60 years, Japan and the United States have been close
allies, to
our mutual benefit. But with U.S. leadership now focused on China and the
war against global terrorism, a veteran Asia expert warns of a cooling off
with Tokyo and its consequences.
As our nation focuses on the
threat of global terrorism and the possibility of war in Iraq, are we
forgetting about our most important ally in Asia? PARADE recently sent
Contributing Editor James Webb, an Asia expert, to the Far East to take
Japan’s pulse. A former Secretary of the Navy, Webb is the author of “The
Emperor’s General,” a novel about America’s occupation of Japan after
World War II.
Unlike even 20 years ago, today’s Tokyo is a decidedly sophisticated city.
The shopping in the Ginza district rivals Manhattan’s. Shinjuku’s bright
lights and crowded pachinko halls hint at Las Vegas. The ethnic mix in
Roppongi’s clubs and along its sidewalks seems as varied as San
Francisco’s.
On the roads in upscale Hiroo, a steady stream of Mercedes and BMWs pass
by European coffee shops. Inside an apartment whose terrace looks out
across the skyscraper-filled landscape of Tokyo, a close friend has cooked
up a Western-style steak dinner, offering me top-quality French wine.
I have visited Japan numerous
times—as a Marine, a journalist, a novelist
doing research, a government official, a guest of their government and a
simple tourist. I have followed its cycles as it rebuilt into an economic
powerhouse after a devastating war, only to hit the wall as its economy
contracted and its population began to age. I have seen its people move
away from xenophobic isolation and into a prominent place among the
world’s great nations. And I have watched over the past decade as
America’s leaders became distracted by an ever more influential China and
began to overlook the vital importance of our relationship with the
Japanese.
In the years since World War II,
the United States and Japan have become
inseparable in many ways. “Japan’s ties with the United States are almost
a
given,” says Masakazu Yamazaki, one of Japan’s leading intellectuals, who
has studied at Yale and taught at Columbia. “We share similar political
systems, freedom of speech and cosmopolitan cultures. Much of our music
has begun to blend, as have our societal structures. I cannot imagine
Japan
getting as close to any other Asian country as it is with the United
States.”
Reading Japan’s moods
But now Japan’s leaders seem to be edging away from the strong bilateral
relationship that has guaranteed economic and military security in East
Asia
for 50 years. Part of this is a reaction to America’s economic and
strategic
courting of China and an obsession with the Middle East. Part is a
consequence of the globalization of the world’s economy. And part is their
realization that American solutions are not always relevant to Japan’s
unique society.
Fukushiro Nukaga, a deputy
secretary general of the ruling Liberal
Democratic Party, did not hesitate when I asked him to describe the point
of
greatest friction in U.S.-Japan relations. “America must stop forcing its
issues on other countries,” said the former defense minister and minister
of
the economy, who is known as a strong friend of the U.S. “You must avoid
the impression that globalization equals Americanization.”
It is not a simple thing to read
Japan’s moods. In its makeup and its approach toward problem-solving,
Japan is in many ways the antithesis of the United States. We are a
multicultural, immigrant nation scarcely 200 years old. They are an
ancient, ethnically homogeneous people who can trace their imperial
family’s roots back more than 2000 years.
As Americans, we pride ourselves
on our differences and fiercely protect
them. The Japanese tradition is that of a “nation family,” with strong
allegiance to the common good. We settle our issues through loud
disagreement, believing that cultural abrasion is the grist of political
creativity. They believe in harmony, preferring internal debate and
policies
designed to bring the nation together. We are restless, inventive, quick
to
discard. They are patient, adaptive, with a genius for perfection. Our
successes and failures are largely individual. Theirs belong to the group,
and if an individual fails, he quickly accepts responsibility to preserve
the group’s integrity.
“America’s little
brother”
Our relationship with Japan has been historically unique and vital to both
countries. Japan renounced war after World War II with a constitution that
limits its use of military force strictly to self-defense. It has survived
for half a century in one of the world’s most unstable regions by
exchanging vital bases for U.S. military protection. Japan’s postwar
growth was based largely on exporting goods to the United States, almost
inextricably intertwining our economies in the process. And they backed us
so completely in international affairs that they were criticized as being
“America’s little brother.”
But times change and
relationships evolve. How much does Japan mean to us now? And, just as
important, how much do we mean to the Japanese?
Much has been written about
Japan’s economic troubles, but the greatest
long-term issues facing the country are incidental to its economy. East
Asia
has become ever more unstable due to Chinese growth and North Korea’s
acquisition of nuclear weapons. There have been suggestions from some
quarters that Japan break free of its defense relationship with the United
States and from others that it develop its own nuclear capability.
Domestically, the country’s
population is shrinking and growing older.
Japanese leaders will soon be struggling with the dilemma of either
following the U.S. model and dramatically increasing immigration or of
possibly reducing Japan’s standard of living and international influence
due
to a dwindling workforce.
Back to Top
Defining
“self-defense”
Yukio Okamoto, a special adviser to the Japanese cabinet who spent several
years at the Japanese embassy in Washington, is a supporter of the
U.S.-Japan defense alliance. “Our relations with the U.S. are at a very
mature state,” he says. “The trend is toward bolstering the U.S.
relationship rather than the other way around.” Mentioning Japan’s strong
support of the U.S.-led war against international terrorism, he points out
that Japanese naval ships regularly operate with U.S. Navy ships in the
Indian Ocean.
How Japan defines self-defense
in today’s complicated world has become a
political hot potato. Shinzo Abe, a congressman who serves as the prime
minister’s deputy chief cabinet secretary, caused a stir several months
ago
when he claimed that developing nuclear weapons might be justifiable. Abe,
son of a foreign minister and grandson of a prime minister, studied at the
University of Southern California. He is one of several prominent
Japanese,
along with chief cabinet secretary Yasuo Fukuda, himself the son of a
prime
minister, who are pushing for a more independent defense relationship.
“The U.S.-Japan alliance is necessary for our security,” Abe says. “But
the
defense relationship between our countries should be complementary and not
dependent.” The upshot of this would be a Japan unhinged from U.S.
protection, creating yet another power center in East Asia.
Japan’s demographic
challenges
Perhaps Japan’s greatest challenge is a future in which its population
will
be both older and smaller. With Japanese couples marrying later and a
fertility rate of 1.33 children per family, the Japanese are not
sustaining
their current population of 127 million. Within the next decade, the
country
is expected to begin shrinking—to about 100 million people by mid-century.
At the same time, Japan enjoys the longest life expectancy in the world.
“There is no historical model for where we are heading,” says the
philosopher Masakazu Yamazaki. “We are facing a situation where one child
may be supporting two parents and four grandparents.”
Their history of ethnic
homogeneity aside, the Japanese have strongly
resisted the idea of addressing the problem through the U.S. model of
large-scale immigration. Few countries can match Japan’s fair treatment of
its own citizens. The standard of living is high, and the disparity
between
top and bottom is far less than in Western nations. Crime has been
marginalized—by comparison, an American is six times more likely to be
murdered, 22 times more likely to be raped, 44 times more likely to be
robbed and 16 times more likely to be in jail than a Japanese.
The population of foreign
nationals has increased by 15% since 1995, to 1.8
million people, not counting an estimated 300,000 who are in the country
illegally. Koreans dominate these numbers, and Asia’s ever-present
“Chinatowns” have prospered in Kobe, Yokohama and Nagasaki since the
1860s. But the latest wave of immigration is different, Japanese
leaders say. As Yukio Okamoto points out, “70% of the robberies in Tokyo
are [committed by] illegals, of whom 90% are Chinese.”
Nobuko Fukuhara, deputy director
of the Ministry of Justice’s Immigration
Bureau, summarizes the current Japanese view toward wider immigration.
“Bringing in unskilled labor would create unnecessary problems for our
society,” she says. “It would also negate our move toward national
innovation. We can best address future labor shortages with a greater
emphasis on the efficiencies brought about by industrial robotics and
advanced technology.”
Still a potent force
for democracy
What kind of future is in store for Japan? The best prediction is that
Japan
will become smaller, more independent, still ethnically homogeneous and
still one of the most important democratic forces in the world. “Change is
the key to Japan,” says Yamazaki—a rather surprising perspective when one
considers Japan’s obsession with its traditions and, indeed, with its
past.
“We respect our history, but we know that the future must be addressed on
logical grounds.”
Will the United States still be
Japan’s most important friend in such a
future? One hopes so—for our sake, for theirs and for the stability of
Asia.
Toward that end, it is crucial that our relationship with Japan not be
diminished as we sort out our future with China, and we should be careful
when suggesting “American” solutions to intrinsically Japanese problems.
On my last night in Tokyo, I am, as ever, walking the streets, absorbing
the
emotional forces of this energetic and historic people. What will Japan
look
like? I wonder as I stare at the high walls that rise from the moat
surrounding the emperor’s palace grounds. How will it change? As I walk, a
young boy bumps into me with his bicycle. I turn to him. He bows deeply
from
the bicycle seat as he passes, a gesture of apology and respect. And I
know
that no matter how much Japan changes, at its core, the culture will
remain
the same.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Where Japan Stands In
The War Against International Terrorism
Japan has strongly supported the U.S.-led war against international
terrorism. Despite the restrictive “self-defense” clause in its
constitution, for the first time since World War II Japanese naval ships
have been sent outside Japanese waters on operational missions. Japanese
refueling vessels have operated alongside U.S. Navy ships in the Indian
Ocean for more than a year, and in December a powerful Japanese Aegis
warship was dispatched to join them. Support for a war against Iraq is
more tentative. The Japanese government has raised only the possibility of
participating in peacekeeping efforts after a war. And a recent survey by
the Asahi Shimbun newspaper showed that 57% of Japanese are opposed to
backing any U.S. military action against Baghdad.
—J.W.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A MacArthurian Regency
In Baghdad?
Advocates of a war to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein often predict a
post-war military occupation similar to the U.S. occupation of Japan
following World War II. But there are major differences. U.S. military
forces never set foot in Japan until its emperor had formally surrendered
and prepared its citizens for our arrival. Nor did Gen. Douglas MacArthur
change the Japanese regime when he took over as proconsul after World War
II. Instead, he was careful to work his changes through the existing
government and took pains to preserve the integrity of Japan’s imperial
family. Moreover, the Japanese culture is in no way similar to Iraq’s. The
Japanese are a homogeneous people who place a high premium on respect, and
they fully cooperated with MacArthur’s forces after having been ordered to
do so by their emperor. The Iraqis, by contrast, are a multi-ethnic people
driven by competing factions, many of whom would view U.S. occupation
forces as infidels invading the cradle of Islam. Finally, Japan is an
island nation whose borders could be defended against outside
interference, while Iraq lies in the midst of the world's most violent
center of anti-American
terrorism.
—J.W.
