In Asia, the U.S. also has no idea about security after the Cold War and persists in continuing the strategy and deployment of the Cold War era. The new guidelines for the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty symbolizes this situation.
Needless to say, the objective of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty has always been that if the, now former, Soviet Union attacked Japan, U.S. Forces would assist the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (Article 5) and Japan would allow the U.S. to use any base in Japan. Since any threat from the former Soviet Union no longer exists, many question the raison d'etre of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty as well as NATO. Some U.S. congressmen have proposed the dissolution of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.
However, it is only natural for U.S. to maintain its comfortable position to try and control the second largest economic power through the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty as well as continuing the means to keep an eye on all Asian countries by maintaining bases in Japan at Japan's expense. Therefore, the U.S. began to "redefine" the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.
The U.S. converted threats from the Soviets to threats from China and North Korea. It has spread propaganda that North Korea and China are more dangerous than former Soviet Union. In 1994, rumors that North Korea was attempting deploy nuclear warhead were often sent to the Washington correspondents of Yomiuri and Sankei in the form of statements beginning , "according to official of the Department of Defense." After the newspaper reports appeared, magazines such as Shukan Bunshu and Shukan Shincho" expanded the scope saying "nuclear warheads will drop on Japan from North Korea tomorrow." In this strangely tense atmosphere, repeated rumors circulated that a secret piece of information, presumably from the U.S. was sent to the Japanese government. This was seen as psychological warfare against the Murayama government. Ironically, Mr. Murayama, who had objected to the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty and Self-Defense Force, was forced into accepting new guidelines of Security Treaty.
Surely, no one can predict what North Korea will do. No one can say that there is no possibility that Kim Jon Ill will go insane, explodes a few missiles and exterminates the Japanese, including Japanese-Koreans, the only source of foreign currency for North Korea. However, it is clear that North Korea doesn't have the capability to attack across the sea and the rule Japan as did the former Soviet Union. The characteristics and level of threats of North Korea and former Soviet Union are different . Naturally, the function and deployment of U.S. forces in Japan and the Japanese Self-Defense Force in coping with North Korea should be different from those concerned with former Soviet Union. However, with no calm discussion estimating these of threats, the mass media have instigated a layman's concept that the Japan-U.S. Security should be enforced. In this way, new guidelines applying the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty to a crisis outside Japan has materialized.
Let's assume that the threat from North Korea is a realistic one. Is there any way other than the use of U.S. forces to cope with North Korea? Should this happen, does Japan have any alternatives other than to play a supporting role to U.S. forces ? The U.S. has never given up negotiating with North Korea, but at the same time the U.S. now threatens North Korea by forcing Japan to obey a hard-line policy. South Korea also has taken a soft-landing policy through its "Sun policy" to avoid military confrontation even though it feels the danger of war. Only Japan, without a dialogue channel with North Korea, relies solely on military cooperation with U.S. and thus worsens its relationships with both North Korea and China.
Of course, Japan should not abandon a military option during the transitional period. But Japan should make efforts to avoid military options if it supports the principles of OSCE. Japan should resume negotiations and diplomatic contacts, develop a consistent policy toward food, economic assistance and KEDO, promote negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea and dialogue between North and South Korea, encourage a four-way peace conference among the U.S., China, North and South Korea, and then see this expanded to a six-county conference, including Japan and Russia. Unless military force is reserved as the last resort, should all peaceful options fail, such strategic options cannot be considered as those of a sovereign nation.
However, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs supported US's airstrikes against Yugoslav earlier than any other countries without enough knowledge about it just as they supported US's airstrikes against Iraq last December. They made clear their supports so immediately that American embassy in Japan were surprised. Since Japan has no its own idea or strategy and only resorts to US which cannot free itself from Cold War regime and repeats errors, Japan has to die together with US if Clinton fails. |
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