The Construction of Antagonism: The History Problem in Japan’s Foreign Relations

Over the past decade, Japan has moved toward greatly enhancing its regional security role within the framework of the U.S.-Japan security treaty. 1 Japans provision of logistical support to U.S. forces fighting in Afghanistan is one important, concrete reflection of this trend, and provides a welcome contrast to Japanese inaction during the Gulf campaign a decade earlier. 2 Japans willingness to assume such a role gready strengthens the U.S. ability to maintain a stabilizing presence in Asia at a price that is acceptable to the American public. More importantly, it removes one of the main sources of tension in the U.S.-Japan alliance, namely the charge that Japan is a free rider on an international security order paid for largely with American money and defended with the lives of American men and women. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.