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There have been renewed debates over the pros and cons of forming an East Asia community ever since the Hatoyama Cabinet advocated its promotion. Such debates have triggered the argument in the United States (and among some Japanese journalists) that East Asia community building runs counter to U.S. interests and that it is intolerable to see Asians considering their relations among each other in a form that excludes the U.S.

Related to this argument, the opinion is voiced that an East Asia community may cause friction in Japan-U.S. relations.

However, a deeper look at the idea of an East Asia community shows that it would be meaningful in several ways for Japan and its neighbors and that many of the community's aspects have...