ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews Japanese-U.S. relations in the areas of technological innovation and basic scientific research in the years since the close of World War II. It considers the new challenges facing Japan and the United States as they are seen to develop their cooperative relationships in science and technology. The "oil shock" that followed the Arab-Israeli war in October 1973 deeply jolted the international economic and monetary system, exacerbating trade and currency imbalances and pinpointing oil dependence as a major cause of instability—political as well as economic. Science and technology have provided the dynamic element in Japan's postwar economic growth, but most of this knowledge was imported from the United States. Japan has agreed to participate with the United States in the research and development of controlled nuclear fusion as an energy source. Advanced energy development technology would in itself constitute a resource and improve Japan's bargaining position vis-a-vis OPEC and other resource-rich countries.
