Analysis of the most important factors

affecting the U.S.-Japan alliance since 2012.

Student Name&ID:

Li Jiayao (5016913)

Xiao Yiqun（5053777）

PAN Ting（5032371）

Word Count: 2742

Date: 26/3/2023
Introduction
As （ He Sha ,Wang Wei, 2016) said, after the end of World War II, the
landmark event of the establishment of the US-Japan alliance was the signing of the
Japan-US Security Treaty in 1951. This military alliance treaty stipulates that the
United States has the right to station troops in Japan and can suppress riots and riots in
Japan at the request of the Japanese government. At the same time, it requires Japan
to unilaterally provide base facilities to the US military and not to give the base to a
third country without authorization. This provides convenience for the United States
to control Japan and then better control the Far East.
The publication of the Japan-US Joint Declaration on Security in 1996. After the
end of the Cold War, the United States shifted its previous focus on the Soviet Union
to new security situations such as the Korean Peninsula and the Taiwan Province
Strait.
At the beginning of the 21st century, especially after the September 11th
incident, the US-Japan alliance has been further strengthened in the political and
military fields. The United States sometimes shows its position in time and supports
Japan. For example, in September 2010, when the US Secretary of State met with
Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, it was made clear that Diaoyu Island was
applicable to the Japan-US security treaty. However, the United States sometimes
"ignores" Japan's existence and demands. For example, during the G-8 summit in June
2013, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe originally planned to hold talks with US
President Barack Obama, but Obama refused.
During the Trump administration, as (Zhu Yunfei ,2021) said, the United States
and Japan cooperated around the Indo-Pacific strategy, and the US-Japan alliance
showed a trend of continuous strengthening and expansion, forming an alliance
system with the United States and Japan as the core, and the United States widely
United its allies in the Indo-Pacific region to contain China. In view of the orientation
of American strategy towards China, especially the India-Pacific strategic cooperation
gradually promoted by the United States and Japan has a profound impact on China,
which not only affects the "the belt and road initiative" initiative, but also poses a
serious threat to maritime security. Japan passed the relevant security bill on
September 18th, 2015, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe personally went to
new york to pay a visit to US Vice President Biden, reaching an agreement to
strengthen the US-Japan alliance. On this basis, Japan and the United States set up an
alliance coordination group on November 3, 2015 to realize the integration of the US
Self-Defense Forces. Under the background of China's "the belt and road initiative"
strategy and the construction of the AIIB, the various movements of the United States
and Japan show the sudden closeness of their alliance.
After Biden took office, he continued to adhere to the strategy of comprehensive
containment and suppression of China, and repaired and strengthened relations with
allies. As (Xu Haina,2022) said, Japan is placed in a particularly important position in
the process that the United States hopes to maintain and reshape the all-ball-leading
position in the United States. With its geostrategic position and economic and
technological strength, Japan has become the most dependent ally of the United States
in the Asia-Pacific region. After Biden came to power, he chose Japanese Prime
Minister Suga Yoshihide as the first foreign leader he met. In order to expand its own
interests and enhance its influence, Japan responded positively to the strategic
arrangement of the United States to reshape the global alliance system, and became an
effective strategic helper of the United States in the Indo-Pacific strategy and the
Ukrainian crisis.

Significance
The related factors affecting the US-Japan alliance are the third-party factors. As
(He Sha,Wang Wei,2016) said, the US-Japan relationship is one of the most important
bilateral relations in the world. The third-party factors in the relationship between the
two countries have a certain influence on the stability of their alliance. The United
States and Japan have been seeking the strategic position in the Asia-Pacific region,
and the security situation in this region has changed rapidly with the rise of China,
Russian and other countries, which makes the relationship between the United States
and Japan have to be adjusted due to the influence of third-party factors: the two
countries will strengthen cooperation, or alienate or compete with each other. China
has a strengthening or centrifugal effect on the US-Japan alliance, while Russia has a
restraining and weakening influence on the US-Japan relationship. In the future, the
US-Japan relationship will still focus on strengthening the trend, rather than ending it.
The third-party factor will continue the existence of the US-Japan alliance and
"coordinate" with it.
The related factors affecting the US-Japan alliance are the contradictions and
common interests between the US-Japan alliance. As (Zhu Yunfei ,2021) argues
Under the Trump administration, the intensification of conflicts between the US-
Japan alliance coexists with the increasing defence cooperation, the "US first" as the
core foreign policy weakens the cohesiveness of the US-Japan alliance relationship,
and trade frictions, trade frictions, and the increasing defence cooperation.The US-
Japan alliance relationship has been weakened by the "America First" foreign policy,
and issues such as trade friction and responsibility sharing have affected the further
development of the US-Japan alliance. "The US and Japan have found common
interests in the Indo-Pacific region based on their common strategic interests, and
both sides are constantly seeking new points of cooperation amidst friction and
compromise.

Literature review
An alliance is a commitment by two or more sovereign states to undertake
common military actions based on common interests by Walt (2013).In 1951, after
World War II, Japan, as a defeated nation, signed the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty with
the United States to establish the U.S.-Japan alliance. The treaty gave the United
States the right to station troops and establish military bases in Japan. With this treaty,
the U.S. gained a strategic position to exercise military influence in Asia, and Japan,
in exchange for U.S. military protection and as a market for U.S. weapons, achieved
economic recovery. The economic recovery was completed in 1953, a period in which
the U.S.-Japan alliance exhibited a marked asymmetry.
Liska (1963) makes it clear that the purpose of state alliances may be to gain
international status or to maintain political stability, but their primary purpose remains
to deal with a specific security threat. Japan's alliance with the United States during
the Cold War served the same purpose. During the Cold War, the U.S.-Japanese
alliance structure continued to exhibit solid and stable characteristics in the face of a
common threat, the Soviet Union. Alliance behavior is summarized by Walter (1987)
as "following" and "checks and balances": first, states may ally with the state that is
actually the most powerful and threatening, constituting "following". The second is
that a state may also ally itself with a weaker state, which constitutes a "check". In
international practice, except for weak states that need to "follow" strong states to
consolidate their power, most states choose to "check and balance" when dealing with
threats. Thus, external threats are the primary reason for the formation of alliances. In
the bipolar situation of the Cold War, the U.S. and the Soviet Union, as the two ends
of the spectrum, each sought to "follow" the other, and Japan naturally acted as a
"follower" in the Cold War, thus deepening its alliance with the U.S. The "balance"
situation.
The disappearance of traditional security threats since the end of the Cold War
has caused the U.S.-Japan alliance to be influenced by a variety of factors. In Japan's
"Defense Seminar," Murayama, T. (1994) pointed out that after the emergence of
China as a third-party factor, Japan no longer insisted on getting rid of U.S. control,
but sought to maximize its own development space in the new U.S.-Japan alliance.
The U.S.-Japan Joint Declaration on Security (1996) then mentions the influence of
military factors on its relationship, and states that the U.S. and Japan agreed at the
military level that both sides should strengthen their military power to maintain the
national security of both countries and use it to maintain the stability of the Asia-
Pacific region, and that the two countries would hold a number of joint military
exercises in the future. According to Hideaki, M. (2003), after the terrorist attacks of
September 11, Japan, for the first time in its history, endorsed the U.S. counter-
terrorism efforts with both hands and gave the U.S. practical support. The alliance has
grown closer and there has been repeated military alignment. "After the September 11
attacks, U.S. military operations anywhere in the world have received strong support
from the Koizumi cabinet. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Defense
Information/FIND.(n.d.) mentioned the TPP as an important part of the U.S.
government's "Asia-Pacific rebalancing" strategy, and Japan as the most important
country to work with the U.S. to build a new economic order in the Asia-Pacific
region. Japan is the most important country to cooperate with the United States in
building a new economic order in the Asia-Pacific region.
The main factors influencing the U.S.-Japan alliance in different historical
periods are different, but from the literature survey, it is easy to find that since the end
of the Cold War, especially since 2012, many scholars have proposed different factors
influencing the U.S.-Japan alliance, but few scholars have summarized and studied
what are the most important factors influencing the U.S.-Japan alliance.

Research Gap
Regarding the U.S.-Japan alliance, there has been some attention in the academic
community. According to the different levels of factors that scholars have focused on,
the research results can be divided into three main categories according to time as
follows.
Focusing on the reasons for the establishment of the U.S.-Japan alliance after
World War II, including the political, economic and military aspects of both sides.
Two main categories can be sorted out. One is the U.S. strategic security factor in the
Asia-Pacific region, using Japan as a military base to develop its military influence in
the Asia-Pacific region. Rather, it is Japan's economic recovery factor, ceding
territorial use rights as a U.S. military base to promote its own economic recovery.
Scholars tend to define this period of the alliance as an asymmetric alliance.
Focus on the development of the U.S.-Japan alliance during the Cold War. This
period is often associated with the "U.S.-Soviet Cold War" keyword. Such studies
mainly highlight the influence of a third party, the Soviet Union, as a threatening
factor to the U.S.-Japan alliance. For example, under the support of theories of
"following" and "checks and balances," scholars argue that countries actively
"followed" either the U.S. or the Soviet Union in pursuit of their own development for
their own security and development. It was also the influence of third-party factors
that contributed to the further development of the U.S.-Japan alliance.
After the end of the Cold War, many scholars have made studies on the factors
influencing the development of their alliance, such as in military, political, security,
and third-party factors, but few scholars have made studies on the development of
their alliance especially what are the most important influencing factors between the
U.S. and Japan since 2012, so it is meaningful to make studies on this.

Research Question
The U.S. and Japan are influential countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and the
U.S.-Japan relationship has undoubtedly become one of the most important bilateral
relationships in the world and the Asia-Pacific region. Although establishing the U.S.-
Japan alliance was a unique product of the specific historical period of the Cold War,
it has been continuously adjusted with the development of the changing international
situation, thus giving it new connotations and meanings. This article will analyze the
most critical factors affecting the U.S.-Japan alliance in the context of the times.

Methodology
Research method: systematic literature analysis method
A systematic review(2022) is a scholarly synthesis of the evidence on a clearly
presented topic using critical methods to identify, define and assess research on the
topic.
 First, the research question is the most critical factor affecting the U.S.-Japan
alliance since 2012. Secondly, using the following criteria to review and collect
literature. Again, literature is compiled and analyzed through the final selection to
categorize the influencing factors. The last step is concluding the most critical factors
affecting the U.S.-Japan alliance.
The literature was selected based on the following criteria. First, the inclusion
criteria included the literature on the historical development of the U.S.-Japan alliance
and the analysis of factors affecting the U.S.-Japan alliance. Second, the years of
publication of the literature were 2012-2022. The language used in the literature was
English. In addition, the keywords used to review the literature were "U.S.-Japan
alliance," "influencing factors," and "U.S.-Japan alliance." The publications were
books, book chapters, government documents, journals, newspapers, and peer-
reviewed articles. The databases were collected using Google Scholar, Scopus, and
Web of science. Publication types included other gray literature and non-peer-
reviewed material; any publication from a year prior to 2012 was a non-inclusion
criterion. The four analysis steps were reading and organizing, describing, classifying,
and interpreting.
Advantages: A comprehensive and in-depth study can be conducted by collecting
and analyzing literature from scholars in the United States, Japan and other regions. In
addition, the method is convenient, free, secure, accessible, and efficient, transcending
the limitations of time and space.
Disadvantages: The literature collected by this method is inevitably subjective,
and the authors' views are not entirely objective. However, by reading and analyzing
the literature extensively, overly extreme articles will be avoided when referencing
the literature, which can reduce some of the impacts.
Data collection: secondary data
First, a total of 2502 documents were identified for databases such as Google
Scholar, followed by a total of 834 documents with duplicate records removed and
inclusion criteria applied, 769 documents with non-English languages removed, and
44 final records after exclusion criteria.
Systematic literature analysis
Among the sources we found on factors influencing the U.S.-Japan alliance,
about 36 references were made in the literature as third-party factors affecting the
U.S.-Japan alliance relationship, such as in Swaine, M. D., Mochizuki, M., Brown, M.
L., Giarra, P. S., Paal, D. H., Odell, R. E., ... & Ren, X. (2017) focuses on assessing
the possible evolution of U.S. and Japanese strategic and military planning in the
Western Pacific as a result of the changing security environment caused by China's
growing capabilities and presence. This study demonstrates in detail the impact of
China as an important factor influencing the future dynamics of the U.S.-Japan
alliance.
Approximately 11 literature studies identify political and territorial security as
factors influencing the U.S.-Japan alliance, 12 identify military-related factors and
archieving hegemonic status as influential factors in the U.S.-Japan alliance, and 6
identify economics as an influential factor in the U.S.-Japan relationship. A very
small number of papers have identified foreign policy, talent cultivation, and identity
politics as factors influencing U.S.-Japan alliance relations. In Chanlett-Avery, E.'s
(2011) US Japan Alliance, the impact of these factors on its alliance is specifically
examined: the signing of the 2+2 agreement in 2005 envisioned greater integration of
the U.S. and Japanese militaries and outlined a new cooperative alliance approach that
both strengthened Japan's defenses and went beyond traditional areas of cooperation.
Since 2006, the Bilateral and Joint Operations Center at the U.S. Air Force Base in
Yokota has allowed data sharing and coordination between Japan and the U.S. Air
Missile Defense Command. And the Diaoyu Islands incident in the East China Sea in
2010 ignited long-standing and persistent sovereignty tensions. A Chinese fishing
boat collided with two Japanese Coast Guard vessels in the waters off the Diaoyu
Islands, while the Chinese crew was arrested by the Japanese Security Service. The
islands in the waters lie between Taiwan and Okinawa, prompting Tokyo, Beijing and
Taipei to assert sovereignty over them. After Japan released the crew, Chinese
officials took "countermeasures" by suspending high-level exchange visits and
exports of rare earth minerals vital to Japanese automakers. China's approach in this
case could crystallize a shift in Japan's attitude toward the United States and its
perception of China as a military threat.

Conclusion
Reading and organizing 44 literature found that the most frequently mentioned
influencing factor is the third-party factor, followed by the factor that the United
States wants to achieve hegemonic status and the military construction factor.
Therefore, this paper argues for the third-party influence factor as the most critical
factor affecting the U.S.-Japan alliance relationship.
References
Atanassova Cornelis Elena & Sato Yoichiro.(2019).The US-Japan Alliance Dilemma
in the Asia-Pacific: Changing Rationales and Scope. The International Spectator(4).
doi:10.1080/03932729.2019.1665272.
Chanlett-Avery, E. (2011). US Japan Alliance. DIANE Publishing.
Cooper, W. H. (2013, February). US-Japan economic relations: Significance,
prospects, and policy options. Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service.
Chiang, M. H. (2019). Contemporary China-Japan relations: the politically driven
economic linkage. East Asia, 36, 271-290.
Cronin, P. M. (1994). Redefining the US-Japan Alliance: Tokyo's National Defense
Program (No. 31). DIANE Publishing.
Dian, M. (2014). The evolution of the US-Japan alliance: The eagle and the
chrysanthemum. Chandos Publishing.
Dell'Era, A. (2017). Japan's New Security Legislation: implications for Japanese
security strategies and the US-Japan Alliance.
Eldridge, R. D. (2001). The origins of the bilateral Okinawa problem: Okinawa in
postwar US-Japan relations, 1945-1952. Psychology Press.
French, E. D. (2018). The US-Japan Alliance and China's Rise: Alliance Strategy and
Reassurance, Deterrence, and Compellence (Doctoral dissertation, Syracuse
University).
Garrett, B., & Glaser, B. (1997). Chinese apprehensions about revitalization of the
US-Japan alliance. Asian Survey, 37(4), 383-402.
Green, M. J., & Cooper, Z. (2014). Strategic Japan: New Approaches to Foreign
Policy and the US-Japan Alliance. Rowman & Littlefield.
Hornung, J. (2015). Modeling a Stronger US–Japan Alliance: Assessing US Alliance
Structures.
Harold, S. W., Nakagawa, Y., Fukuda, J., Davis, J. A., Kono, K., Cheng, D., & Suzuki,
K. (2017). The US Japan Alliance and Deterring Gray Zone Coercion in the
Maritime, Cyber, and Space Domains. RAND CORP ARLINGTON VAGovernment
of Japan.
Hideaki, M. (2003). Terrorists, terrorism, and Japan’s counter-terrorism policy. In
Gaiko Forum (pp. 53-63).
James L. Schoff.(2018).Political Change in America and Implications for the US-
Japan Alliance. Asia-Pacific Review(2). doi:10.1080/13439006.2018.1545489.
Japan-United-States: Joint Declaration on Security for the 21st Century. (1997).
International Legal Materials, 36(4), 1001–
1005.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020782900015151
Kulacki Gregory.(2021).The Nuclear Deterrence Strategy of the US-Japan Alliance is
Failing but Can Be Fixed. Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament(2).
doi:10.1080/25751654.2021.1994744.
Komine, Y. (2016). Negotiating the US–Japan alliance: Japan confidential. Taylor &
Francis.
Kim, S. C. (2017). Endangering alliance or risking proliferation?: US–Japan and US–
Korea nuclear energy cooperation agreements. The Pacific Review, 30(5), 692-709.
Krauss, E. S., & Pempel, T. J. (2004). Beyond bilateralism: US-Japan relations in the
new Asia-Pacific. Stanford University Press.
Kapur, N. (2017). Mending the “Broken Dialogue”: US-Japan Alliance Diplomacy in
the Aftermath of the 1960 Security Treaty Crisis. Diplomatic History, 41(3), 489-517.
Mikanagi, Y. (2004). Okinawa: women, bases and US–Japan relations. International
Relations of the Asia-Pacific, 4(1), 97-111.
Murayama, T. (1994). Dai 130 kai kokkai ni okeru Murayama naikaku sōri daijn
shoshin hyōmei enzetsu [Policy Speech by Prime Minister Murayama Tomiichi at the
130th Session of the Diet]: July 18, 1994. Tokyo: Gaimushō.
Ohtomo, T. (2003). Bandwagoning to dampen suspicion: NATO and the US–Japan
Alliance after the Cold War. International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, 3(1), 29-55.
Przystup, J. J. (2015). The US-Japan alliance: review of the guidelines for defense
cooperation.
Rapp, W. E. (2004). Past its prime? The future of the US-Japan alliance. ARMY
WAR COLL CARLISLE BARRACKS PA.
Swaine, M. D., Mochizuki, M., Brown, M. L., Giarra, P. S., Paal, D. H., Odell, R.
E., ... & Ren, X. (2017). China's military & the US-Japan alliance in 2030: A
Strategic net assessment. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Takashi Oka.(2010).US-Japan Alliance: The Political Dimension. Asia Pacific
Review(1). doi:9632296.
Tsuneo Akaha.(2015).US-Japan Security Alliance Adrift?. Mongolian Journal of
International Affairs. doi:10.5564/mjia.v4i0.415.
U.S. Department of Defense Information / FIND. (n.d.). Federal Information & News
Dispatch, Inc.
Vogel, S. (Ed.). (2004). US-Japan relations in a changing world. Brookings
Institution Press.

Systematic review(Ed.)(2022,June 6). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org

Wirth.(2015).Securing Japan in the ‘West’: The US-Japan Alliance and Identity

Politics in the Asian Century. Geopolitics(2). doi:10.1080/14650045.2014.999155.
Williamson, Airman 1st Class Tara A.(2010).Keen Sword exercise sharpens US-Japan
alliance. U.S. Department of Defense Information / FIND.
Yuan, J. D. (2013). Chinese perspectives on the US-Japan alliance. In The US-Japan
Alliance (pp. 83-116). Routledge.
Yoshida, S. (2018). In the shadow of China’s bomb: Nuclear consultation,
commitment reconfirmation, and missile defence in the US-Japan alliance, 1962–
1968 1. In Joining the Non-Proliferation Treaty (pp. 172-195). Routledge.
.(2009).Wing Walking : The US-Japan Alliance. Global Asia(1).
朱云飞.(2021). 特朗普政府时期美日同盟关系研究 (硕士学位论文,青岛大学).
https://kns.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?
dbname=CMFD202202&filename=1021887230.nh
何沙 & 王微.(2016).影响美日关系的第三方因素分析. 西南石油大学学报(社
会科学版)(04),34-41.
徐海娜.(2022).拜登执政以来美日同盟的新发展. 当代世界(12),48-52.