It is conventional wisdom that Japan no longer matters to the United States. Its economy is stagnating, the political system is paralyzed, and its markets and culture remain closed. Future growth in American exports and investment will be in China. Security concerns in Asia center on the Taiwan Strait, the Korean Peninsula, and the Indo-Pakistan border. Nothing can be farther from the truth.
Japan is the second largest economy in the world.
With a few European exceptions, Japan and the United States account for virtually all cutting edge technology being developed in the world today. The U.S.-Japan alliance forms the cornerstone of the U.S. security presence in Asia and is at the core of stability in the Western Pacific region. The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan continues to grow. Over one million Americans visit Japan every year. Japanese is the third most studied foreign language in the United States, after Spanish and French.