Upon further reflection, I wonder if the Asia team that the Bush administration has assembled — which I previously discussed here — for its final years in office might be a good thing for the US-Japan alliance.For too long, the alliance has been a cozy love fest. Even in rough patches, the alliance has been …
Tag: US-Japan relations
The Bush administration has left the building (in Asia, anyway)
South Korea's Dong-A Ilbo reports that the Asia team for the denouement of the Bush administration is complete...Daniel Drezner could not have been more right when he said that the Bush administration is looking for "September call-ups" for its foreign policy team.Look at the roster provided by Dong-A. While some, including Dr. Paul Heer and …
Continue reading The Bush administration has left the building (in Asia, anyway)
Gaiatsu revisited
After reading this post by Matt Dioguardi at Liberal Japan. and reading that MTC was "not thrilled" with yesterday's admittedly dyspeptic post about gaiatsu and constitution revision, I feel that it is necessary to clarify about what the US should do over the coming years as Japan debates constitution revision.Pace Matt Dioguardi, gaiatsu is not …
No gaiatsu on revision
Oh, to be the "grand strategist" author of best-selling books — and to be the peddler of a strategic concept that purports to explain everything.Clearly, that's the ticket to being able to get away with writing blog posts like this one by Tom Barnett: "Japan will and must un-pacify." In a single thirty-word post, Dr. …
Was Abe’s trip a success?
That's the argument made by an editorial in the Japan Times and Jun Okumura at GlobalTalk 21. The Yomiuri, meanwhile, was cautiously optimistic, suggesting that while there were positive results from the Bush-Abe summit, the future is unclear, and there is a greater need for better bilateral communication (a point I've stressed on a number …
Mr. Abe goes to Washington
Abe is set to begin his visit to Washington, which means that there is a surge of media coverage repeating the same questions that I have been asking at this blog for the past six months. Domestically, does Abe represent a return to the pre-Koizumi style of LDP governance? Internationally, is Abe truly committed to …
Abe interviewed in the Washington Post
In advance of Abe's impending visit to Washington, DC, the Washington Post has published an interview of Abe by Lally Weymouth, journalist and daughter of the late Katherine Graham. It is unclear in which language the interview was conducted or whether Abe was speaking through an interpreter.But regardless of the language, Abe once again displays …
Sunday in Yokosuka
I was the guest of a friend -- thank you, again -- to the 18th annual Yokosuka sumo exhibition. Some pictures follow:Banners outside the Yokosuka taiikukan where the exhibition was held; the banner for the yokozuna Asashoryu is on the leftNo explanation necessaryEntrance of the top-grade wrestlersThe exhibition was attended by a number of VIPs, …
The healing power of Dice-K?
Perhaps the baseball gods are smiling on the US-Japan relationship, with wunderkind Matsuzaka Daisuke's first start for the Red Sox a masterful performance.What better way for the allies to change the subject away from all that nastiness about comfort women and North Korean nuclear weapons? State Department spokesman and Red Sox fan Sean McCormack evidently, …
Redefining the US-ROK relationship
How interesting that on the same day that the US and South Korea conclude a "landmark" trade agreement -- legislative approval in both countries pending -- the Yomiuri Shimbun runs an editorial looking at the impact of North Korea on the February agreement to dissolve the US-ROK Combined Forces Command, giving primary responsibility for the …
Tobias S. Harris 