Trump’s Foreign Policy and U.S.-Japan Security Relations: Continuity or Change
Keywords:
Foreign Policy, U.S., Japan, Donald Trump, SecurityAbstract
After the end of World War II, the United States has been central in Japan’s security policy. For the US, Japan is also a significant ally in terms of security concerns, ranging from hedging against Chinese military expansion in the Asia-Pacific to confronting threats from North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. There is no question that the alliance continues to serve the fundamental interests of both parties. This article examines US president Donald Trump’s security policy towards Japan. It seeks to understand whether this policy changed during Trump’s presidency compared to that of previous governments.
This paper finds that Trump’s security policy towards Japan was a part of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy, which aims to counter China’s military and economic rise in the region and to solve the North Korea crisis diplomatically. Trump’s security policy towards Japan changed in many aspects during his four-year term in office. There are several factors, both internal and external, that led to policy changes. In terms of the internal factors, US security policy towards Japan has been uncertain as a result of Trump’s unpredictable decisions. In terms of the external factors, Shinzo Abe’s security policy, the crisis on the Korean Peninsula, and Chinese military modernization have highly impacted US-Japan relations under Trump’s presidency.
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