ABSTRACT
As described in chapter 3, Japan sits in the Northeast Asian security complex. This complex has six principal members: China, Japan, the Koreas, and Russia, as well as the United States as the global hegemonic power with substantial interests in the region, including forward-deployed troops in South Korea and Japan. Sitting on the edge of this complex are Taiwan and ASEAN as outsiders looking in.1 However, the three most important members of this complex are Japan, China, and the United States. Figure 8.1 illustrates this relationship. Alternately the United States-Japan relationship and the Sino-United States relationship are called the most important bilateral relationships in the world. It is important to note that the Sino-Japan relationship is never mentioned as being important for either China or Japan. Presently, Chinese-Japanese relations can easily be said to be at their worst since the end of World War II. China’s recent, quasiofficial media campaign to demonize Japan among its citizens is working very well, with the unintended consequence of strengthening nationalism in Japan. The problem here is that if the region is to be peaceful, then these two major powers need to work out their differences. The problem is, thus, how Japan and its ally, the United States, deal with the challenge of China to their foreign and security policies.
