If, to cite the sarcasm of The Economist , Japan once again amazed the US with its ability to disappoint, the end result may well also be the end of the US-Japan strategic alliance, which could otherwise well evolve into the new century as a lynchpin that provides the region with a solid basis upon which market economies flourish. This is a serious matter indeed, and I am not making an alarmist argument. For I cannot forget what I heard from Bob Manning, who participated in Armitage's discussion group that brought about the now much cited policy paper last autumn. Japan is yet to live up to their expectations so long as we in Japan somehow subliminally assume that it is always the US that is nominative while Japan remains objective. In fact it goes beyond this.
Japan is pushed to accept the international accounting standard.
Unless we come to think of ourselves in much more proactive terms, be it about Japan's ties with the US or about its roles in Asia, Japan cannot become a mature responsible partner to anyone. If one looks hard for silver linings in Japan's clouds, one can point to the fact that there are fresh ideas being put in place during the course of statewide administrative reforms. Japan's Cabinet Information Research Office, to take an example, is interested in setting up a think tank that is physically minimal yet operates on a large scale by making the best use of network technologies. By pulling together top scholars and strategists, they aim amongst many things to make the think tank a formidable force that can engage in policy debates with its counterparts elsewhere, so as to formulate the right advice at the right time for its prime client, i.e., Japan's Prime Minister. This must materialise soon.