ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 outlined how the coming into force in April 1952 of the US-Japan security treaty, along with the San Francisco peace treaty, tied Japan firmly into the Western camp in the early Cold War period. The security relations that developed between these two Pacific powers, which have centred on the security treaty system, have significantly shaped the nature of the overall relationship between Japan and the US. This is because dependence on the US nuclear and conventional alliance has made Japan highly vulnerable to US pressure in the political and economic as well as the security dimension of the relationship, especially given the norm of bilateralism.
