The U.S.-Japan Security Relationship After the Cold War

This report examines Japanese views of the U.S.-Japan security relationship after the Cold War and considers implications of those views for the United States. Since the end of World War 11, the close U.S.- Japan security relationship has benefited both nations. The United States has been able to anchor its East Asian military presence in Japan, helping to contain communist influence and lending stability to the region. Japan has been able to concentrate on rebuilding its economy with relatively little concern and cost for its own defense. But both Tokyo and Washington have begun to reassess their security requirements in view of changing global threats and, in the United States case, in the face of perceptions of long-term economic decline. An important part of this reassessment involves an examination of the purpose and structure of the U.S.-Japan security relationship. In Japan, two events have prompted debate on the security relationship. The first is the apparent disappearance of a security threat from the former Soviet Union. The second is criticism-both domestic and foreign at Japan has received for its limited role in the Persian Gulf War.