For decades, Japan has maintained a contradictory attitude towards the United States. It has both eagerly sought to become closer to and rely on American strategic protection, efforts to integrate into America's Asia-Pacific layout, and also intentionally maintained a safe distance from the US. Gearoid Reidy, an author of Bloomberg Opinion columnists, recently wrote an article analyzing the relations between the two countries and making the aforementioned statement.
Ridley mentioned the interactions between Japan and the United States over three decades ago. In 1992, then-U.S. President George Herbert Walker Bush made his last visit to Japan during his tenure. At the opening ceremony of a new Toys “R” Us store in Nara Prefecture, he expressed the United States' demands regarding trade with Japan.
President Bush said that his government had established a core trade policy goal from the beginning, aiming to break down barriers that prevent American goods and services from entering other markets. “We need to reach an agreement to effectively and permanently improve market access and increase sales of American products.”
Ridley believes that while toy stores may seem insignificant, they actually concealed the core disputes in Japanese-American trade at that time. The barriers to entry in the Japanese retail market were precisely one of the reasons why the Bush administration was dissatisfied with Japan. The recent announcement by Toys R Us to sell its Japanese business has brought this past issue back into public view. Over the years, America's demands towards Japan have undergone significant changes, but Japan's dilemma of balancing its interests in relations with the United States remains unchanged.
In 1992, George Bush was at a toy store. Associated Press
The article states that this contradictory trait was fully manifested in recent Japanese-US interactions. After the meeting between Chinese and American leaders, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe actively tried to establish contact with Trump. What Japan fears most is for the United States to divert attention.
However, the excessive focus of the United States on Japan also puts great pressure on Japan. Recently, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has been publicly expressing opinions and intervening in Japan's fiscal and monetary policies. It is clear that Japan wants the United States to support it, but does not wish for the U.S. to interfere in every aspect of its actions.
In Ridi's view, for decades, Japan has been dealing with an ally whose actions are unpredictable and changeable. Japan has been able to endure and compromise for so long because it cannot do without the United States. While other U.S. allies have sought to distance themselves from Washington, Tokyo has been striving to maintain a just-right distance. Supporters praise Yukie Akamatsu for managing to arrange two summit meetings between Japan and the United States within a week, but this urgency reveals Japan's inner sense of insecurity.
The article states that although the US has neglected Japan as its greatest concern, it is also a bad thing when Washington gets too involved. Beisenat initially expressed support for preventing further depreciation of the Japanese yen, and the Japanese side welcomed this. However, his increasingly critical comments on Japan's fiscal policy began to cause discomfort to the Japanese side.
Bessen's remarks further deepened the public's perception, leading to the belief that the Japanese government's financial actions were irresponsible. This impact has spread to the market, driving up the yields on Japanese government bonds. However, even so, Japan cannot complain too much. Japan originally hoped for Bessen's intervention, but did not want him to get involved to such a degree.
Ridie wrote at the end of the article that Japan can withstand the external pressure exerted by Washington, but it must never allow Washington to decide the final outcome. Knowing how to strike a balance is exactly the skill that Highashi Asami needs to master in dealing with Trump and Besent.
