Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ increasing impatience with the new Japanese government over the status of American military bases in Okinawa is becoming harder and harder to conceal.
Public disquiet over what were seen as unfair terms negotiated by the Liberal Democratic Party played a major role in in the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ’s) victory, the first major transfer of power in Japan since the US occupation.
But the US, used to getting its way in dealings with Japan, has been increasingly short with the new government, and Gates in particular has repeatedly demanded that the DPJ live up to the old party’s deals.
But that isn’t why the DPJ was elected, and the rare power change in the normally politically ambivalent nation shows a Japan looking to assert its independence and carve out a more equitable relationship with the US. It is unlikely the US will give up such a key vassal in the far east easily, but the more pressure it puts on the DPJ the more the party is likely to resist the Obama Administration’s demands.
Both Japan and America would be better off if they ended their military alliance.
When Gates finishes bloodying the noses of the new Japanese government – we will all be asking: Who lost Japan to China?
What are you saying? That Japan and China are going to attack America? I don't see how America has any legitimate business having military forces in Asia or the far east at all.
The Japanese need to "grow a set" and tell Gates to go pound sand. If the American people are unwilling to demand an end to our silly empire, maybe foreigners will do it for us. The sooner, the better.
Good to hear that the new Japanese government appears to be taking a stand against US arrogance. It has been a long time coming, even though Japanese politicians and businessmen have been well known to send Westerners thru the clothes wringer at times. I worked in Tokyo for 20 years, and this type of arrogance proliferated by Gates and the US government really deserves a "slap in the face." Gates should be careful what he wishes for, because he may get what he deserves.