Japan is a critical treaty ally of the United States. It hosts dozens of U.S. military bases and approximately tens of thousand U.S. military personnel, which help provide security and stability in Asia.
How did Japan rank in the Index of Economic Freedom? Click here to find out. Read More.
Attempts by the new Japanese government to renegotiate terms of the Guam Agreement, which would realign U.S. military forces in Japan, have seriously strained U.S.-Japan relations. Read More.
On February 8, the United States and Japan jointly announced changes to the existing bilateral accord for realigning U.S. Marines on Okinawa. While both sides affirmed commitment to relocating a Marine air unit on the island, more significantly, the Obama Administration abandoned longstanding U.S. insistence that Japan fulfill pre-conditional commitments… Read more
Abstract: The failure of the Congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (“Super Committee”) to come to agreement on reducing the federal deficit raises the real prospect of a total of $1 trillion in … Read more
This report is available in Japanese. Click here to read. Abstract: Due to the accidents at the Fukushima nuclear plant in March 2011, the Japanese government is re-evaluating its commitment to nuclear energy. Japan’s apprehension about nuclear power is… Read more
The warning bells were sounded in early 2009: The U.S. government had to act swiftly and forcefully to avoid repeating Japan’s painful experience of sustained economic stagnation.[1] The Obama Administration’s policies have failed to this point, and Japanese-style long-term stagnation may well ensue unless a fundamental course correction… Read more
U.S. officials express greater optimism about Japanese stewardship under Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda than under his lackluster predecessors. The DPJ abandoned the naïve foreign and security policies of the Hatoyama administration after Chinese and North Korean belligerence underscored the wisdom of a strong alliance with the United States. And Noda… Read more
Initial assessments of Japan's response to the 3/11 disasters were positive. Tokyo appeared to have responded quickly and efficiently to the combined earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear catastrophes. The government established an emergency response team headed by the prime minister, coordinated over 300 organizations providing disaster relief, and quickly ordered deployment… Read more
Like a hapless baseball team forced to go to the bullpen for yet another relief pitcher, Japan has called up a new prime minister, its sixth in five years. Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda of the Democratic Party of Japan, or DPJ, is the latest iteration of what has become an… Read more
As dependable as the tide, a new prime minister has washed ashore in Japan. Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda is the latest iteration of what has become an annual ritual of Japanese leadership change. Prime Minister Naoto Kan has been unceremoniously tossed aside, although his 15-month term will be remembered as… Read more
Abstract: The expansion of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is in many ways a logical and even forgone conclusion. China is the world’s second-largest economy; its heavy dependence on trade inevitably makes the seas of growing importance to national well-being. Yet as China’s… Read more
Abstract: 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… Read more
Executive Summary The massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011, and the following release of radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, represent one of the greatest disasters to strike the nation… Read more
The global financial crisis has had a major impact on perceptions of American power and its relationships in Asia. Many of the perceptions are not founded on facts. Among the facts often overlooked: American companies invest far more abroad than does… Read more
In recent weeks, a group of uninhabited rocky outcroppings in the East China Sea between Okinawa and Taiwan have become a serious source of tension between Beijing and Tokyo. On September 8, the Japan Coast Guard arrested the crew of a Chinese fishing vessel operating in the waters off the… Read more
If the Obama administration’s Asia policy seems familiar, it is with good reason. In several respects, it closely mirrors that of the George W. Bush administration. It has held firm on the presence of the U.S. Marines in Japan. It has stood forcefully by our South Korean… Read more
Abstract: The U.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. Refusing to provide troops to aid the coalition in Afghanistan, and… Read more
Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Carl Levin (D–MI), ranking member John McCain (R–AZ), and Senator Jim Webb (D–VA) have called on the United States to overhaul two complex military realignment agreements with South Korea and Japan. Their proposals would undermine years of carefully crafted diplomacy that achieved U.S. strategic objectives… Read more
India is steadily emerging to be one of the world’s top economic players but still faces development challenges and...… Read more
Philippine President Beningo Aquino III and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who just returned from a week of...… Read more
[caption id="attachment_79602" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda (L),...… Read more
The devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan earlier this year did more than destroy the livelihoods of tens of...… Read more
During bilateral security talks, Washington and Tokyo affirmed their commitment to the 2009 bilateral Guam Agreement,...… Read more
The true scope of the devastation in Japan caused by Friday’s earthquake and tsunami are still unknown. While the...… Read more
The impact of the Japanese earthquake on its nuclear reactors continues to capture the world’s attention. Reports of...… Read more
On behalf of the entire Heritage Foundation family, I extend our heartfelt condolences to the people of Japan as they...… Read more
Today an earthquake of magnitude 8.9 hit just off the northeast coast of Japan, claiming the lives of hundreds or more...… Read more
Friday morning, a massive earthquake hit Japan and spawned a massive tsunami that is sweeping across the Pacific,...… Read more
Senior Research Fellow, Northeast Asia
Research Fellow
Senior Visiting Fellow, Japan