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Review of:

US-Japan Relations in a Changing World by Steven K. Vogel
Brookings Institution Press, Washington DC, 2002
Pages: 296. £13.95

Reviewed By: Christopher Hughes
Reviewed in: Political Studies Review
Date accepted online: 04/03/2004
Published in print: Volume 1, Issue 2, Pages 196-301
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North America

The years 2001-02 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the signing and coming into force of the US-Japan security treaty. The importance of this defining moment in Japan's post-war international relations and security policy has been marked by a number of edited academic texts which take stock of the past half-century of US-Japan bilateral relations. US-Japan Relations in a Changing World is undoubtedly the best of these volumes, containing fine contributions from many prominent US scholars on Japan which look at both the history and future of relations. Michael Green provides what seems by now to be the obligatory, but nevertheless excellent, chapter on US-Japan security ties. William Grimes covers economic and trade relations. Keith Nitta focuses on the dominant foreign policy paradigms that have conditioned bilateral relations. Leonard Schoppa examines the effect of domestic politics on US-Japan international relations; and Laurie Freeman the role of the media. Amy Searight explores Japan's growing management of its relations with the USA in international organizations. Adam Posen provides a timely look at Japan-US financial relations, and Steven Vogel and John Zysman investigate technology frictions. Vogel also provides useful introductory and concluding chapters.

The conclusions of the volume are not startling, but are still useful: US-Japan relations will become more fluid; there will be new challenges for bilateral security cooperation; economic relations may become less contentious as economic practices converge. The volume also identifies five accelerating trends: Japan's foreign policy may become more independent of the USA; bilateral relations will be more embedded in multilateral relations; bilateral relations will be more pluralistic; US-Japan relations will have to expand to take on new issues; and military power will decline in utility. Overall, this is a very useful volume that should find its way on to most syllabuses dealing with Japan's international relations.