US-Japan Relations: Message from Pearl Harbor

(Baonghean) - 75 years after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Mr. Shinzo Abe became the first Japanese Prime Minister to visit this US base on December 26-27. This move demonstrates Japan's reconciliation along with Tokyo's expectations for the bilateral relationship with the US in the future.

Closing the wartime past

Seventy-five years ago, the Japanese army launched a surprise attack on the US naval base in Hawaii, sinking many US warships and killing 2,400 people. Four years later, Japan suffered two atomic bombs dropped by the US on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, taking the lives of more than 200,000 innocent people. The bloody "revenge" in World War II turned the US and Japan into enemies.

More than seven decades have passed, and the US-Japan relationship has gone from being enemies to close allies. Both sides have continued to strengthen their diplomatic ties and strive to erase all vestiges of the wartime past. That is why, in May this year, US President Barack Obama visited Hiroshima while attending the G7 Summit held in Ise-Shima, Mie Prefecture, Japan.

In response, Prime Minister Abe decided to visit Pearl Harbor during his visit to the United States and meet with President Obama before he left the White House. Like the US President, the Japanese Prime Minister also emphasized that the visit to Pearl Harbor was an effort in “diplomatic strategy” and not related to an apology. However, the actions of the two US and Japanese leaders are considered “implicit apologies” to each other.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with US President-elect Donald Trump on November 17. Photo: AP.

Prime Minister Abe affirmed that his visit to the Pearl Harbor memorial was because “we cannot repeat the horrors of war again” and that he wanted to join President Obama in “expressing to the world this commitment to the future and the value of peace.”

Clearly, relations between Washington and Tokyo under Obama and Abe have gone much further than previous governments in erasing the “ripples” left over from the post-war period.

Japan fears Trump

Experts say that Mr. Abe is concerned that the US-Japan alliance that he has devoted so much effort to building will be broken. Therefore, he is trying to take advantage of his visit to Pearl Harbor to emphasize to the world and to the US President-elect the importance of the US-Japan relationship.

Japan’s concerns are not unfounded, as the new US administration that will take office early next year remains uncertain. During his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump criticized allies for not paying enough for defense, while the US paid too much.

The real estate billionaire once frankly stated that the United States, under his leadership, would not necessarily deploy aid to NATO if member countries were attacked, but would first have to consider the level of contribution of NATO member countries to this alliance.

The comments have drawn heavy criticism from Washington’s traditional allies and raised concerns in Japan. Although Japan has agreed to increase spending on US forces in Japan by 1.4% over the next five years to an average of $1.74 billion a year, paying for the “security contract” with its US ally will certainly take a significant toll on Tokyo’s budget.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lays a wreath at the Honolulu Cemetery on December 26. Photo: Kyodo

In such a context, along with the rise of China, Tokyo cannot help but worry. The "fate" of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement is unclear if the Trump administration takes office, which is a warning to Tokyo that China will have the opportunity to assert itself.

Beijing is currently pushing for a Free Trade Area of ​​the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) as well as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which has been under discussion since 2012 and does not include the US, to counter the TPP.

The main issue here, observers say, is not just the competition between China and the US for trade deals, but also the stark contrast in the US and China’s visions of shaping the regional order and consolidating their influence. So for Mr. Abe, meeting President Obama and making a historic visit to Pearl Harbor are symbolic, intended to show the world – and China in particular – the enduring strength of the postwar US-Japan relationship.

It is no coincidence that the Japanese Prime Minister has visited the US twice in just over a month. In mid-November, Mr. Abe attracted attention when he was the first head of state to visit New York to meet with President-elect Trump. The meeting was considered the first stepping stone for smooth cooperation between the two allies, the US and Japan, in the new Washington administration. And now, the visit to Pearl Harbor carries Prime Minister Abe's message of reconciliation and raises expectations that Japan's relationship with the US will continue to be good. Of course, the extent of this relationship will only be verified after January 20, 2017.

Thanh Huyen