The Jan. 20 inauguration of the U.S. administration of Barack H. Obama is not only of historic consequence for the United States in terms of his being the first black president as well as first chief executive from the post-Vietnam War generation, but it also has aroused extremely strong interest worldwide. This is because the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the global financial crisis that originated in the U.S. show that the time has come for the U.S., which led the world in the 20th century, to drastically review its role. Naturally, Japan has strong interest in the policies the Obama administration will pursue.
The reaction in Japan to the Obama administration is complex. On the one hand, as in other parts of the world, there is a strong affinity with and high expectations for Obama. According to an international poll taken before the presidential election, more than 60 percent of Japanese supported Obama while less than 20 percent supported John McCain. A post-election poll shows that 80 percent of Japanese welcomed the election of Obama as the 44th U.S. president.
On the other, there is unease in Japan about the Obama administration and dissatisfaction with Japan's relations with the U.S. The unease mostly derives from the fact that Japan has worse memories of the Democratic administration of President Bill Clinton than of Republican administrations. The first Clinton administration was wary of Japan's economic power and pushed for Japan to open its market by setting numerical targets, which resulted in Japan suffering a steep appreciation of the yen to a record high of ¥79 against the dollar.