The first Japan-U.S. summit since the election of President George W. Bush has gone off without a hitch. Sad to say, but low expectations get a lot of the credit for the success of the meeting. Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is a lame duck, both countries' economies are slumping and the tragic accident involving the Ehime Maru, a Japanese fisheries training vessel, and the USS Greeneville, a U.S. nuclear submarine, meant that any real discussion of security issues would be subordinated to calls of support for the alliance. That is unfortunate. The two countries have much work to do.
Much of the boilerplate rhetoric produced by the summit concerned security matters. The two men agreed that "the Japan-U.S. alliance is the foundation of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region," and they recognized the growing threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.
At this point, however, the two countries begin to diverge. Although both men acknowledged the importance of "close consultations" on missile defense, the two governments are not in agreement on just what to do. Mr. Bush is eager to pursue the program, but Japan, along with many other nations, is much less enthusiastic about missile defense. It fears that NMD could create instability rather than prevent it. Mr. Mori noted that he "understands" the U.S. desire to pursue the program.