Benefits of closer Japan-U.S. ties

日米協調関係の強化

In addition, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush, at their summit in Texas, agreed to accelerate research on missile defense, moving further to strengthen Japan-U.S. security cooperation.

Missile defense not only entails massive expenditures but involves legal problems, because it could conflict with Japan's constitutional ban on exercising the right of collective self-defense. Following his support for military action in Iraq, Mr. Koizumi appears to be leaning further toward Japan's alliance with the United States.

But it must be noted that Japanese diplomacy rides on two axles — the alliance with the United States and the policy of international cooperation fostered by the United Nations. The Bush administration, which tends to act unilaterally with the help of its overwhelming military might, should be encouraged to exercise self-restraint.

Within the U.S. administration, there are hard-liners ready to use military force to pre-empt North Korea's development of nuclear weapons. But the cases of Iraq and North Korea are very different. We must try to avoid a catastrophic scenario in which military threats escalate to the extent of involving South Korea and Japan in conflict.

It is essential to convince North Korea that nuclear development will not bring rewards. North Korea is demanding security guarantees for the regime of Kim Jong Il as well as economic assistance, but the scrapping of its nuclear program must come first.

Recently a former engineer who fled North Korea said that 90 percent of that country's missile parts had been imported from Japan aboard the North Korean ship Man Gyong Bong. If that's true, then it is a serious problem that cannot be overlooked. Held almost at the same time as the Japan-U.S. summit was a Group of Eight foreign ministers' meeting in Paris. Participants demanded the complete scrapping of North Korea's nuclear program and expressed support for Japan's efforts to resolve the issue of the abduction of Japanese nationals by Pyongyang agents. Upcoming events include the G-8 summit in France as well as the Japan-China and Japan-South Korea summits. These meetings will further strengthen the solidarity needed to solve these problems within an international framework.

Perhaps never before have the leaders of Japan and the United States been so full of praise for the close relations between the two countries. Even back in the days of Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone and President Ronald Reagan, who boasted of their first-name "Ron-Yasu" friendship, bilateral relations were not as rosy as they are. At that time, there were thorny issues such as trade friction and pressure on Japan to spend more on defense.

In Texas, Prime Minister Koizumi and President Bush spoke about the "global alliance" between Japan and the United States. Mr. Koizumi was only the fifth leader to be invited to the president's private ranch in Texas, following the leaders of Russia, Britain, Australia and Spain. The extraordinary hospitality probably was an expression of appreciation for Prime Minister Koizumi's early show of support for the war in Iraq.

Mr. Koizumi became the first Japanese prime minister ever to be invited to attend a regular intelligence briefing by the National Security Council. President Bush emphasized that this invitation was a manifestation of the strength of the alliance. That the two leaders consolidated their relations of mutual trust is welcome.

Large divisions appeared in the international community over the Iraq war. But the U.N. Security Council has decided to lift the economic sanctions against Iraq, thus paving the way for its reconstruction, which can be best achieved within an international framework of endeavors. The stronger ties cemented between the leaders of Japan and the United States should be put to effective use in these efforts, including the solution of the North Korean nuclear issue.

The Japan Times Weekly
June 7, 2003
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      両首脳はさらに、日米がミサイル防衛の共同研究を加速化させることに合意した。

      ミサイル防衛は、集団的自衛権に関する日本の憲法上の制約に抵触する恐れがある。今回の合意で小泉首相は日米安保体制の強化へ動いたといえるが、日本外交は安保体制ばかりでなく、国連を中心とする国際協力を基本にしていることを忘れてはならない。ブッシュ政権は圧倒的軍事力をもって単独行為に走りがちだが自制が必要だ。

      米政権の強硬派は北朝鮮の核開発を阻止するため武力行使を辞さないといわれるが、日本と韓国が北朝鮮をめぐる軍事紛争に巻き込まれることは絶対に避けるようにせねばならない。

      北朝鮮は米国に対し安全保障と経済援助を求めているが、それよりも核開発計画の廃棄が先だ。

      最近、北朝鮮から亡命した元技師が「ミサイル部品は、朝鮮総連を通じ日本から北朝鮮船の万景峰号で運ばれていた」と証言した。政府は、貨物検査を強化するなど、現行法で可能な対策を直ちに取るべきだ。

      仏で開かれたサミットでも北朝鮮の核開発廃止と日本人拉致事件解決への支持が集まり、国際的な結束がはかれそうだ。

      日米関係が今ほど緊密になったことはない。小泉首相とブッシュ大統領は、会談で「地球規模の同盟」に言及した。両首脳が相互信頼関係を固めたことは歓迎すべきである。

      国連安保理は対イラク経済制裁解除について合意し、イラク復興への道を開いた。北朝鮮の核問題などの問題は強化された日米関係をてこに解決するべきある。