- Feb 22, 2017
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Tighter U.S.-Japan alliance is unexpected legacy of Kishida-Biden era
Uncertainty over successors threatens momentum of 'global partnership'
asia.nikkei.com
When dovish, soft-spoken Fumio Kishida became Japan's 100th prime minister in October 2021, a briefing paper for U.S. President Joe Biden focused on two characteristics: "competence" and "caution."
The memo by Christopher Johnstone, then U.S. National Security Council director for East Asia, highlighted Kishida's competent service as foreign minister for five years under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe while also speaking of his perceived caution toward bold initiatives.
Views in Tokyo of Biden before he took office in January 2021 were not all that different.
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Yet looking back at the unprecedented tightening of the U.S.-Japan alliance over the past three years, Johnstone, now Japan chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, told Nikkei Asia, "My memo underestimated what was going to prove to be possible."
This is good news for both countries as Japan is a vital ally to the US.
I have little faith either winner in Nov will be able to continue this legacy