The United States's relationship with Japan has just become more complicated. The recent election victory of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has resulted in more resistance to a truly shared U.S.-Japanese mission.
Two factors have driven the debate over the planned U.S. military realignment in Japan: campaign pledges made by the Democratic Party of Japan and complaints from Okinawans about the presence of the U.S. military. These factors have had a particularly strong impact on efforts to preserve the Marine Corps Air Station on Okinawa. However, other critical factors national interests, regional threats, and the U.S.–Japan alliance’s military requirements are absent from the discussion over the station’s scheduled relocation from Futenma to a more remote locale. The Obama Administration should continue to press Japan for implementation of the military realignment agreement. It is past time for Tokyo to jettison its passive consensus-building approach and take more assertive steps.
[NHK] Before the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China on the 29th, a rally was held in the Diet, and former Prime Minister Murayama said that Japan and China are neighboring countries in Asia.