Perhaps understandably, Japan's political leaders are loath to do what needs to be done and take offense at the sometimes blunt advice from Washington. From Washington's perspective, the relationship has frayed because Tokyo has failed to keep up its end of an unspoken understanding. The United States guarantees regional security and maintains an open market for exports from the entire region Japan included. In return, Japan should be the locomotive for Asian growth, supplying capital and technology to Asia, and providing a market for a major share of the resulting production. Japan sees the United States as impatient and lacking an appreciation for what it is doing, at home and in the region, to deal with the Asian financial crisis.
Some Japanese officials believe the unstated U.S. objective is to keep Japan weak.
They also believe the United States is tilting towards China, confusing common interests with strategic interests. These officials see the United States thus weakening through neglect the U.S.-Japanese strategic alliance that has been the linchpin for Asian stability for fifty years. First, Administration officials should warmly support the new Japanese government. It may not contain the decisive reformers the White House and Wall Street seek. Thus, we need to engage with it confidently.