Revitalizing the Private Sector Exchange in Japan-U.S. Policy Dialogue

Strengthening the Japan-U.S. alliance requires more than diplomacy between governments. It is critical to add an overarching policy dialogue that includes congresspersons, financial experts and scholars.

At the New Shimoda Conference in Tokyo, sponsored by the non-profit Japan Center for International Exchange, jobholders from Japan and the U.S., including six members from both houses of the U.S. Congress, discussed the countries’ issues and futures.

The Shimoda Conference, which was held nine times from 1967 to 1994, has been revived with the goal of revitalizing the exchange between Japanese and American legislators. A new dialogue on policy has been initiated that was formerly overshadowed by private organizations.

After the new administration took over in 2009, Japan-U.S. relations deteriorated rapidly. In an indicative joint Japan-U.S. public opinion poll conducted last year, the number of Japanese who responded that Japan-U.S. relations are “bad” (40 percent) topped those who responded “good” (33 percent) for the first time.

The main cause, of course, was the buffoonish remarks made by the administration of former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, though it was also indicated that the environment of peripheral support for Japan-U.S. relations is in disarray in both countries.

According to research by the Japan Center for International Exchange, an average of 50 U.S. congresspersons and 72 congressional staffers visited Japan every year in the latter half of the 1990’s. However, between 2007 and 2009, the yearly average dropped to 14 congresspersons and 39 staffers.

The number of policy research institutions in Washington that deal with Japan-U.S. relations has fallen by half, from 20 to 10. There are 42 specialists for China and 7 for Korea, but only 4 for Japan. Japan research in the U.S. is described as being in a “quiet crisis.”

The budget deficit caused Japan to fall behind in sending information overseas, creating a vicious spiral of declining U.S. interest in Japan.

The Kan administration has turned things around, saying “the Japan-U.S. alliance is of great concern to us” and Japan-U.S. relations are on the road to recovery.

However, the improvement of relations depends largely on outside factors. The U.S. was expecting China’s cooperation on issues such as global warming and security in the South China Sea, but they have only responded even more selfishly. Furthermore, the situation on the Korean peninsula is growing more and more tense.

Japan-U.S. policy dialogue cannot be expanded overnight. A steady increase in personal exchange is crucial. Deepening trust requires not just friendship and goodwill, but constructive discussion of how to overcome issues common to both Japan and the U.S.

Both the government and the financial world are greatly concerned with the immediate results of “jigyo shiwake” (transparent budget-cutting panels). However, it is important for them not to get caught up in those results and to have viewpoints on the mid- and long-term development of Japan-U.S. relations. They should take a positive attitude in considering supporting the many private organizations that are worried about a shortage of financial resources.

As Prime Minister Naoto Kan works to deepen the Japan-U.S. alliance in his U.S. visit this year, personal exchange will go alongside security and the economy as one of the three pillars of the alliance. The government as a whole should think of everything it can do, for example, to send more Japanese language teachers to the U.S.