AJISS-Commentary
The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies
IIPSRIPSInstitute for International

The Japan Institute ofResearch Institute for

Policy Studies

International Affairs

Peace and Security

Editorial Advisory Board:

No. 183

Akio Watanabe (Chair)
Masashi Nishihara
Yoshiji Nogami
Taizo Yakushiji

22 August 2013

Editorial Committee:

US-CHINA SUMMIT MEETING BRINGSSIGH OF RELIEF TO JAPANTaizo Yakushiji
Hisayoshi Ina
Tsutomu Kikuchi
Shujiro Urata andToshiro Iijima
Editor & Online Publisher:

Hiroyuki Akita

Yoshji Nogami
President, JIIA

Japan’s perspective on US-China relations is acomplicated one.
The Japanese government asks the US
government, “Are important talks going on between
the US and China without our knowledge?,” towhich the US replies, “No need to worry. Japan andthe US are allies, after all.”This kind of back-and-forth has long takenplace between the two countries. What, then, wasJapan’s take on the June US-China summit
meeting?

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and should
not be attributed to The Association of Japanese Institutes ofStrategic Studies.

AJISS-Commentary
The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies

The Japanese government felt a bit uneasy upon receiving advancenotice of the itinerary of the American and Chinese leaders.

From Japan’s

standpoint, the US seemed to be giving China very special treatment with aone-night, two-day stay in a California resort for face-to-face talks between
President Obama and President Xi Jinping lasting more than eight hours.
When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the US in February, President
Obama set aside less than two hours to meet with him. The Japanese
government was disturbed by the great disparity in the welcomes accorded
Prime Minister Abe and President Xi
Once the meeting was over, however, the concerns of the Japanese
government for the most part dissipated, the biggest reason for this being
President Obama’s statements on the Senkaku Islands and historical issues.
According to sources in both the Japanese and US governments,President Xi spent about an hour criticizing the Japanese government’spurchase of three of the Senkaku Islands and insisting that Japan had not
accepted Chinese calls to shelve the territorial issues between the two countries.
President Obama did not go along with these views, objecting that the US
would not sit by as its ally Japan was threatened by China. He reportedly took avery clear stance on not tolerating Chinese provocations toward Japan.
The Obama administration has heretofore declared that the Japan-US
Security Treaty applies to the Senkaku Islands as well and has made clear its
support for Japan. At the same time, it has quietly asked the Japanese
government to exercise restraint to prevent tensions from rising in the East
China Sea. Some in the Japanese government saw in this a sign that the Obamaadministration was backing away from China.
Just the fact that President Obama looked President Xi in the eye andurged him to stop provoking Japan was a better-than-expected result from theJapanese perspective.
President Obama’s statement on Japan’s historical issues also garneredhigh regard from the Japanese government. During the meeting President Xi
had made reference to the recent words and deeds of Japanese politicians in
warning that Japan was swinging to the right.

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President Obama nevertheless2

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The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies

insisted that he trusted Japan as a democratic state and that Japan and the US
were key allies. He did not fall for China’s attempt to split Japan and the US on
the historical issues.
Prime Minister Abe’s responses to questions in the Diet in April aboutsuch matters as the definition of “invasion” sparked criticism not only in China
and South Korea but in the US as well. The US government even went so far as
to convey its concerns unofficially to Prime Minister Abe about his remarks onhistorical issues.
President Obama’s statement does not mean that the concerns regarding
Japan’s stance on historical issues have disappeared. Even so, it was of greatsignificance for Japan-US relations. Translating its meaning very liberally, themessage from President Obama to President Xi was essentially the following:“The US is not very worried about how Japan interprets the past becausesuch historical discussions ultimately take place within a democratic framework.
Japan as a democratic state differs from China under one-party rule.”
There can be little doubt that President Xi found this point to be the mostbitter to hear of all the remarks by President Obama.
China cannot share “democratic values” with the US. Nonetheless, itbelieves that it can build cooperative relations on par with the Japan-US allianceand the US-Australia alliance by sharing “the interests of great powers” with theUS.
For all practical purposes, though, President Obama responded toChina’s approach with a resounding “no.” No matter how much the interests of
the US and China coincide, China cannot enjoy a genuine friendship with the US,
as do Japan and Australia, unless it democratizes.
That said, it is not true that the US and China cannot become good
partners. The topics on which the US and China can cooperate and deal as
major powers and as permanent members of the UN Security Council span theglobe, including the North Korean and Iranian nuclear issues, the Syriansituation, global warming, trade and international finance.
Regular cooperation will create the leeway for the US and China to form
somewhat of a close relationship.

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President Obama’s aim in inviting President

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AJISS-Commentary
The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies

Xi to California and examining him from head to toe like a doctor wasundoubtedly to discern just how much cooperation he could expect from him.
Will President Xi put a lid on nationalism domestically and lead China tothe status of a responsible major power?
national interests.

If so, this would also serve Japan’s

Rather than swinging back and forth emotionally overdevelopments in US-China relations, Japan should work together with the US toensure that China becomes a responsible major power.
Regular cooperation will create the leeway for the US and China to form
somewhat of a close relationship.

President Obama’s aim in inviting President

Xi to California and examining him from head to toe like a doctor was
undoubtedly to discern just how much cooperation he could expect from him.

Hiroyuki Akita is a senior staff writer of the Nikkei Newspapers.

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