U.S., Japan and the issues they face

By: Jaya Spier

President Obama has made a very big deal about his decision to interact with other countries in a way that implies partnership rather than compliance. Over and over again on each issue that he has deemed important for the American agenda, he has stressed the need for the global community to work together. Issues like the economy and global warming need international cooperation and President Obama is determined to get that.

This past week the first foreign leader came to visit President Obama at the White House. This was the Japanese Prime Minister, Taro Aso. Japan has been very interested in making sure that they maintain their status as a top U.S. ally. PM Aso stated on Tuesday that "on behalf of not only Japan but as a nation, we are very honored to be here as the first of foreign guests." He also said that Japan and the United states “will have to work together, hand in hand” as they are the world’s biggest economies. (Washingtonpost.com)

The new democratic government had some Japanese policymakers uncertain about U.S.-Japan relations. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton tried to ease their concerns when she made Tokyo her first stop on her trip to Asia. As Obama said at the beginning of talks with Aso "The alliance that we have is the cornerstone of security in East Asia, it is one that my administration wants to strengthen.” He continued on to say that the United States’ relationship with Japan is “extraordinarily important” and "It is for that reason that the prime minister is the first foreign dignitary to visit me here in the Oval Office." (France24.com)

Some of the topics discussed were the economy, the potential threat of North Korea as it plans to release a satellite into space, which is seen as a test for advance missile technology, and Japans continued support of humanitarian and financial aid in Pakistan and Afghanistan in their fight against terrorism.

Obama and Aso have pledged to work together on these issues. The United States government wanted to assure Japan that Japanese relations would not be sacrificed in an effort to work well with China. With the economy being a main concern “both countries are to agree to resist any rising trend toward protectionism,” they also agreed to “cooperate with each other in stabilizing the global financial system and supporting developing countries. Aso also was going to suggest to Obama that Tokyo and Washington should create a framework for new Japan-U.S. dialogue on economy" (yomiyuri.co.jp).

Prime Minister Aso was only in town for a brief 24 hours but the visit reaffirmed U.S.-Japanese relations and sent a message to the global community showing that President Obama really is ready to reach out and work with other countries on global issues.