Historical Dictionary of United States-Japan ... - Bakumatsu Films

Introduction
The most important bilateral relationship in Asia since the end of World
War II is assuredly between the United States and Japan. In fact, many
foreign relations experts claim that the most important bilateral relationship
the United States has with any country in the world is with
Japan. Despite the rising geopolitical and economic importance of
China, U.S.–Japan relations have remained paramount for well over 50
years and are likely to remain that way well into the 21st century.
This important bilateral relationship might seem odd because the
U.S. and Japan are different in several ways. The U.S. is a continentsize
superpower while Japan is an island country with a relatively small
military force. The U.S. has a “melting pot” population descended
mostly from Europe, Latin America, and Africa, whereas Japan’s population
is more than 98 percent ethnic Japanese. Traditional culture and
ideals of the U.S. are mostly derived from the European Renaissance
and Enlightenment, while Japan’s traditional culture was adopted from
China and Korea, and then adapted to indigenous Japanese influences.
Not surprisingly, the above differences have contributed to political,
economic, racial, and even military clashes between the two countries
since formal relations began in the 1850s.
Yet, these and other differences are often more complementary than
divisive, and contribute to overall stability in East Asia. Despite the terribly
destructive Korean (1950–1953), Vietnam (1965–1975), and Cambodian
(1975–1979) wars, there have been no wars between the major
powers in East Asia (U.S., Russia, China, and Japan) since 1945 due in
large part to the stabilizing political, military, and economic influences
of the U.S. and Japan. In addition, interregional and international trade
between all countries in the region has dramatically expanded due to a
large extent to the same stabilizing influences of the U.S. and Japan.
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