Bureaucrats in Tokyo are finally feeling the love from Washington as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton prepares to grace Japan with her first overseas visit Monday as America's top diplomat.
But some experts say that, like any relationship, Japan has to get rid of its insecurities before they hamper bilateral ties.
"I would like all of us to get away from the need to continually ask which is the most important relationship," said Robert Hathaway, director of the Asia program at Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, during a recent panel discussion in Tokyo.