By Adam Minson, SIPA, '08 

On April 3, James Zumwalt, director of the Japanese Affairs Office at the U.S. State Department, spoke at Columbia University on U.S.-Japan relations and current political developments in Japan. The event was cosponsored by the Columbia University Weatherhead East Asian Institute, the Center on Japanese Economy and Business of Columbia Business School, and the Nihon Benkyo Kai/Japan Exchange Forum at the School of International and Public Affairs. 

Zumwalt explained what he considered pessimism surrounding U.S.-Japanese relations. Japanese authorities lament what they perceive as a shift of U.S. attention from Japan to China, and a U.S. approach to North Korea that emphasizes denuclearization over the return of Japanese citizens abducted by Pyongyang. They find U.S.-Japan relations missing from the 2008 presidential campaigns, and interpret this as a loss of relevance. Indeed, the relationship between U.S. and Japanese heads of state is visibly weaker after the departure of Shinzo Abe, who was very close to President George W. Bush. Yet Zumwalt argued that that the pessimism is largely unfounded. As he put it, "our relationship with Japan will remain our pre-eminent relationship in East Asia." This does not depend on changes in the Japanese or American leadership. Nor will China eclipse the importance of Japan: Washington’s approach to China is one of engagement and hedging, while Japan remains the tested U.S. ally in East Asia. Washington supports Tokyo’s bid for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council, and Japan remains the most important U.S. economic partner outside of the North American Free Trade Agreement. There may be disagreements or different emphasis in foreign policy, but there is room for this within a strong historical partnership. Zumwalt did characterize the relationship as an "unequal alliance." The U.S. provides for Japanese military defense, while Japan has no capacity to reciprocate. Part of this requires a U.S. military presence in Japan that has caused tensions at times. While some in Japan have brought these tensions into the country’s domestic politics, no mainstream political figure in Japan is willing to jeopardize the alliance with the U.S. and the security it provides. 

That said, the U.S. military is seeking to address some of these tensions, and will remove 24,000 marines stationed in Japan and reduce its land use in parts of Okinawa that have become densely populated. The now divided government in Japan does make the conduct of U.S.-Japan relations more complicated, said Zumwalt. With the upper house controlled by the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), some in the DPJ have attacked the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) close ties with Washington. This, according to Zumwalt, is almost surely for political purposes. DPJ figures have even privately assured U.S. diplomats that they would support strong relations with the U.S. if they were to gain control of the government. Zumwalt worried that this is turning relations with the U.S. into a "political football." However, he was confident that Japanese public support for the alliance would remain strong. China’s ascent and North Korea’s nuclear ambitions do not only preoccupy Washington, but also the Japanese public. This reinforces Japanese support for a strong U.S.-Japan alliance, whatever difficulties may arise at the margins of the relationship.