With the U.S. presidential election less than two months away, interest is building globally in the likely outcome and its impact on America's role in the world.
The common wisdom is that most foreign governments are hoping President George W. Bush will lose in his bid for re-election on Nov. 2. This view is based less on evidence of support for Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, than on the notion that the Bush administration has alienated even long-standing U.S. allies by its ignorance, arrogance, and unilateralism.
A curious exception is Japan. Ever since assuming office in April 2001, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has fostered a close and cooperative relationship with Bush, so much so that many here compare it to the "Ron-Yasu" relationship of 1982-1987 between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone. According to Japanese diplomats, "U.S.-Japan relations have never been better than they are now."