Redefining the U.S.-Japan Alliance

n the early 1990s, the Japan-US alliance was facing an identity crisis. What was the raison d’être for the bilateral security relationship now that the Cold War was over and the Soviet Union—the common enemy of Japan and the United States—had ceased to exist? Faced with the necessity of rebuilding their security strategy for the post–Cold War era, both countries set about the task of forging new policies, while maintaining close communication through official and unofficial channels. This process led both to the same conclusion: The Japan-US partnership had a vital role to play in post–Cold War security. The 1996 Japan-US Joint Declaration on Security was an affirmation of this conclusion at the highest level. The following year the two governments followed up this statement with a concrete framework for collaboration at the operational level, the new 1997 Guidelines for Japan-US Defense Cooperation.