US-Japan Alliance Diplomacy 1945-1990

This book is a pioneering study of a remarkable post-war relationship. Based upon extensive American primary sources, it traces how the US moved from hostility to close friendship in its relations with Japan over the past forty-five years. Professor Roger Buckley is concerned with the degree of continuity in American policies towards Japan, the role of personalities, and the beneficiary of foreign policy arrangements. He addresses these questions by highlighting the main features of each phase of the changing relationship. The author also stresses both the inequalities of US-Japan ties until the 1970s and the present strains that the two nations face in attempting to come to terms with shifts in relative economic power and a rapidly evolving international environment. The study concludes with an analysis of how strengthening ties are now the key to peace and stability in the entire Asian Pacific region.