In the early 1990s, after Japan faced criticism for its passive checkbook diplomacy during the first Gulf War, the United States sought to take advantage of Tokyo's "defensiveness and fear of isolation" to prod it to play a greater role on the global stage, according to a recently declassified U.S. government document.
The document -- a cable dated March 14, 1991, by then U.S. Ambassador to Japan Michael Armacost -- is part of more than 1,750 declassified documents totaling more than 8,000 pages that highlight how from 1977 to 1992 U.S. pressure spurred Japan to increase its international contributions and resolve trade friction.
The papers also clarify the process of how the two nations worked together to deepen their defense cooperation during these critical years, which saw the end of the Cold War and the launch of the Gulf War, even though their trade and economic ties were deteriorating.
Now, more than a decade later, Japan and the United States have agreed on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan to strengthen defense ties by integrating military operations and to transform security relations into a global alliance.