The 109th Congress should
- remove U.S. military presence from Japan
- remove barriers to U.S.-Japanese trade
- learn lessons from Japan's economic mistakes
- learn lessons from Japan's economic triumphs
Japan needs a place on the global stage
U.S. Military Support for Japan: Time for a Setting Sun
Washington should follow a strategy of disengagement in Japan, which no
longer faces a serious threat. Japan is the world’s second-ranked economic
power. Whatever dangers to Japan remain or might arise in the future, from,
say, an aggressive China, could be met by a modest Japanese military
buildup. Of course, many of Japan’s neighbors have long viewed Washington’s
presence more as an occupation force to contain Tokyo than as a force to
contain Moscow. But the Japanese do not possess a double dose of original
sin; their nation, along with the rest of the world, has changed
dramatically over the last half century. The Japanese people have neither
the desire to start another conflict nor the incentive to do so, having come
to economically dominate East Asia peacefully.
Moreover, Tokyo is unlikely to accept a permanent foreign watchdog, and
tensions will grow as the lack of other missions for the U.S. forces becomes
increasingly obvious. Popular anger is already evident in Okinawa, where
American military facilities occupy one-fifth of the island’s landmass.
Washington should develop a six-year program for the withdrawal of all U.S.
forces from Japan, starting with those in Okinawa. At the end of that period
Washington and Tokyo should replace their mutual defense treaty with a more
limited agreement providing for emergency base and port access, joint
military exercises, and intelligence sharing.
Japan's Economy and Lessons for the U.S.
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