Julian McBride
The U.S.-Japanese alliance is one of today’s strongest treaty alliances, shielding threats from China, North Korea, and Russia. Nevertheless, this ironclad alliance is often put to question due to misconceptions about reciprocal defense between Tokyo and Washington. Combining two of the strongest economies, militaries, and soft powers in the world, the Japanese-American alliance has room to grow, even within political turbulence. Against the backdrop of Trump hinting that every U.S. ally should grow its defense apparatus, the POTUS expressed criticism in relation to Japan. On two occasions, President Trump stated that the American-Japanese alliance is “so one-sided.” Furthermore, the President said, “We pay hundreds of billions of dollars to defend them, but they don’t pay anything.” President Trump also told reporters that if America were attacked, Japan would not come to America’s aid. Overall, the President’s arguments ignore historical contexts that could cause a rift in one of the world’s steadfast alliances.
In the aftermath of Imperial Japan’s unconditional surrender, the United States government outlined Tokyo’s constitution, which led to decades of pacifism. In the new American-drafted constitution, Article 9 states that the country cannot have a full-standing military, which is the reason why Tokyo calls their army the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF). Despite its defensive operational nature, the JSDF consistently ranks in the top 20 armies by firepower amongst all nations. Additionally, Japan’s navy plays a crucial role in the First Island Chain strategy to contain Chinese naval movements in East Asia.
In the aftermath of World War II, the United States hosted permanent military bases in Japan to grow relations with Tokyo, enhance its defense, promote democratic reforms, and maintain a foothold in the Indo-Pacific region. Though Washington pays billions to logistically preserve and strengthen its forces in the Pacific Fleet, the Tokyo government pays for hosting American military bases. Before a 2022 agreement renewal, the Japanese parliament allotted 201.7 billion yen for American military bases. With the renewed agreement, there has been an increase of 250 to 299 billion yen, which equates to 2.6 billion USD. Tokyo also contributes to joint JSDF-U.S. forces training exercises, which take place throughout the Japanese archipelago.
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