The Cold War is over, the communist threat is gone and the global community has shifted from a bipolar to a multipolar world.
Old alliances established as security against the threat are in question.
The need for the United States to expend military resources abroad are not as clear cut as they once were. The American people focus inward on their standard of living, the economy, and overall well-being. The strains of trade deficits are tearing at the long established relationship between the United States and Japan. There are many sources available that identify, empirically, the extent of this economic imbalance. The paper outlines the causes that led to this imbalance and discusses the effects it has on the economic welfare of the United States and the future relationship with Japan.