Partnership: The United States and Japan, 1951-2001

by Akira Irie, Robert A. Wampler

This publication commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty and the Treaty of Peace with Japan is timely, relevant, and edifying. To quote the editors, Akira Iriye and Robert A. Wampler, it "affords a good opportunity to reflect on problems as well as achievements, on continuities as well as change, in postwar U.S.-Japanese relations." It also encapsulates the vicissitudes of a remarkable, and enduring, bilateral relationship, which former American ambassador to Japan Mike Mansfield called "the most important--bar none." The pivotal part played by the individual American ambassadors in shaping--and at times smoothing--the Pacific partnership is specifically addressed in this collection of fourteen essays by prominent American scholars. They examine the past, present, and future of the U.S.-Japanese relationship in the context of the partnership's interrelated aspects--political, strategic, economic, and cultural. In so doing, they confirm the contribution of the peace treaties to regional stability in Asia, at the same time indicating the areas where that stability could be threatened, especially in the economic realm, with bitter trade disputes almost upsetting the fragile alliance in the 1980s. That was when many Americans began to see Japan's economic advance as a challenge to U.S. postwar supremacy. Are these perceptions shaped by history or are they molded by the cultural backgrounds of the two countries? Such questions are highlighted in the animated accounts on the role the mass media play in how each nation views the other. However, despite the frequent clashes and bouts of turbulence, "the two peoples ... from divergent cultural backgrounds ... have somehow learned to live together, even to appreciate one another," concludes one author. No one looking ahead in 1951 could have predicted the remarkable turn of events of the next five decades or imagined the benefits both parties have reaped from the alliance. The essays in this volume brilliantly underscore the importance of the U.S.-Japan relationship and provide a clear understanding of the priorities of the two nations as they stand on the threshold of a new century.

304 pages, Hardcover

First published August 15, 2001