Continuity And Changes Of America’s Japan Policy Between George W. Bush Administration And Barack Obama Administration:in Military And Economic Dimensions

The US-Japan alliance experienced the initiation and stabilization periods in the cold war era, the drift period after the end of the cold war, and the redefinition stage at the end of the Clinton administration, and went into the post-911 period. In the past several decades, the alliance has evolved from one in which America totally dominated its ally to one in which America treats Japan as an equal ally and sees it as the cornerstone of its regional policies and important partner for its global strategy. What influenced this evolution is the interaction between the two allies in which the military and economic dimensions are the main concerns, which was mainly expressed in the form of the policies to each other.In Bush administration, America’s policy to Japan was made against the backdrop of countering terrorism and Japan’s decade long economic stagnation. So generally America’s Japan policy was to advance its military role and influence to reinforce its anti-terrorism missions and encourage Japan’s economic structural reforms to foster a freer market environment with more compatibility with America’s, while in Obama administration, America’s Japan policy happened against the Rebalance/Pivot to Asia and the financial crisis which aimed at containing the potential challenging emerging power and keep its leadership position in the regional affairs. In order to shape the regional order, America actively advanced the US-Japan alliance to become an open and inclusive one both in military and economic aspects.This thesis is to examine the America’s Japan policies in Bush administration and Obama administration in the military and economic aspects from the perspective of alliance theory so as to understand the logic underlying its development, which can be of good help for us to understand the development of the alliance in both past and future.