HONOLULU — The U.S.-Japan relationship is on solid ground and growing stronger by the day. As a result of their recent Camp David summit, U.S. President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo have become each other's new best friend — perhaps not as close (yet) as Bush's ties with Abe's predecessor, but certainly close enough to allay a lot of the fears that have existed about the end of the "special relationship" following Junichiro Koizumi's departure from office last fall.
So why does everyone in Japan appear to be so nervous?
Recent conversations with Japanese officials and leading scholars both in Tokyo and in the United States point to one central reason for rising apprehensions: fear of a new "Nixon shock" — the surprise 1972 rapprochement between China and the U.S. — this time concerning North Korea.