ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 revisits the hypothesis that the US‒Japan alliance has harnessed US dominance in the Asia-Pacific region. In consideration of the previous sections, the neo-Gramscian approach to the alliance is clarified by further discussing the central research question: ‘Why and how is it that the US‒Japan alliance has managed to adapt its relevance and functions in the post-Cold War period despite critiques, both domestic and international, of its original military rationale?’ In this regard, this section considers the notion of ‘breaking away from the postwar regime (sengo shisutemu karano dakkyaku)’, which is relevant in considering the sustainability of the alliance as well as US-led hegemony in the Asia-Pacific.
