Recent diplomacy should end fears in Japan about the country’s relationship with the United States following Joe Biden’s defeat of Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Last week’s visit to Washington by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga confirms that the partnership remains the cornerstone of security in a region that remains a top U.S. priority.
That success is a marker, however, and not a resting point. Japan must continue to build on those accomplishments, widening and adapting the partnership to do still more for Indo-Pacific peace, stability and prosperity.
Japan enjoyed a privileged place in U.S. foreign policy during the last four years, in part a product of a personal relationship between Trump and former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, considered “the Trump whisperer” for his ability to stay on the good side of the mercurial U.S. president. New leadership in both the Prime Minister’s Office and the White House threatened those relations.