Operation Tomodachi
Japan is a major area of engagement for the East Asian foreign policy of the Obama Administration. In her inaugural tour of East Asia, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reassured Japanese officials of Japan's centrality in the network of American alliances. In a response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the United States initiated Operation Tomodachi to support for Japan's disaster relief following the natural disaster earning gratitude from Japan's Minister of Defense, Toshimi Kitazawa, who while visiting the , thanked its crew for its assistance as part of Operation Tomodachi saying, "I have never been more encouraged by and proud of the fact that the United States is our ally."