The State of U.S.-Japan Relations

January 31, 2008

Speaker
John Negroponte, United States Deputy Secretary of State

Presider
Brian Lehrer, Host, The Brian Lehrer Show

Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte spoke about the achievements of the U.S.-Japan alliance and the challenges that confront the two countries today.

Ambassador Negroponte "certainly is someone who takes the tough assignments in U.S. diplomacy," said presider Brian Lehrer, host of an interview and call-in show on New York-based public radio station WNYC. One week after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, he took office as U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations. In 2004, he was named Ambassador to Iraq; the following year, he became the first person to serve in the new position of Director of National Intelligence. As Deputy Secretary of State since February 2007, he is the State Department's second in command and chief operating officer.

Ambassador Negroponte's first exposure to Asia came early on in his career, he noted: having joined the Foreign Service in October 1960, he was posted to Hong Kong three months later, served in Vietnam from 1964 to 1968, and "subsequently was involved in the lengthy process of the peace talks that ultimately led to the Paris peace agreement" of 1973. "I have always felt that my time in Vietnam was probably the most career-defining assignment that I had during the course of my professional life," he said.

For more than a century, "Japan has been the first stop for Americans doing business in Asia," the deputy secretary said. "And yet our alliance encompasses much more than just economic activity and commercial interaction. For the United States, Japan is a partner of the first order, whether combating terror, curtailing North Korean and Iranian nuclear ambitions or addressing developmental and governance challenges."

Continued cooperation between the U.S. and Japan is critical "in meeting the challenge of combating violent extremism and terrorism," Ambassador Negroponte said. "Our record should give us confidence": Japanese self-defense forces have flown over 600 missions and transported more than 500,000 tons of cargo, and Japan's pledge of $5 billion to reconstruction in Iraq, the second largest amount after the U.S., has made possible the provision of clean water, electricity and sanitation "to areas long neglected by Saddam Hussein," he said, and the southern city of Samawa, where Japanese troops and foreign affairs officers were based from 2004 to 2006, "is now one of the most stable areas in Iraq." Japan is the third largest contributor to reconstruction in Afghanistan, supporting the rebuilding of the country's Ring Road and the refueling of coalition ships. "We applaud the Diet's recent approval to restart this refueling mission. These ships contribute to a multilateral effort to stop weapons smuggling into Afghanistan. This has been a vital contribution to Operation Enduring Freedom and to the international community's broader efforts to combat terrorism."

"On nonproliferation, the U.S. and Japan have common interests and goals in protecting the world from weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems," he said. "Prime Minister Fukuda has made clear that a nuclear Iran cannot be tolerated. Our nations are united in our efforts to use diplomatic pressure against the regime in Tehran, because we know that international pressure must continue if Iran refuses to suspend enrichment."

"With respect to North Korea, Japan is a vital partner in the six-party talks," Ambassador Negroponte said. "Even as we focus on the goal of verifiable denuclearization," the U.S. "will continue to urge North Korea to address the abduction issue directly with Japan," he added. "We do understand the significance of the abduction issue to the Japanese people. Japan can be confident that we will not forget the abductees or their families."

In the economic sphere, Japan's internal reforms "will be critical, especially in the financial sector, because Tokyo should be a global financial center," and in agriculture, "because we count on Japan to join us as we push Doha to successful conclusion," he continued.

In May 2008, Japan will host the fourth meeting of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, and "the United States looks forward to participating in this important meeting," he said. "Our continued partnership is important to promoting strong governance and democracy in troubled regions. We, the American and Japanese people, know that the promise of democracy is not limited to any one region and we must answer the call of those who still suffer under tyranny. This is especially true in Burma, whose people look to Japan as a great democracy for moral leadership and practical assistance in their struggle for political freedom."

On security arrangements, the U.S.-Japan alliance "has expanded in scope to enable closer cooperation with NATO, India, Australia and other partners," the deputy secretary observed. "We have welcomed Japan's efforts to promote security in Asia and beyond since the end of the Cold War." However, he said, "The formal institutions for peace and security in Asia, particularly Northeast Asia, are not as developed as they are in other regions. A new multilateral architecture that adds value to diplomacy and security cooperation among the powers of the Asia-Pacific, including the U.S., could be of great benefit to the region."

"Such a multilateral arrangement could take different forms. But one idea is the potential to use the six-party talks as the beginning of a more lasting multilateral structure for peace and security in Northeast Asia. We hope to explore this in earnest once we have achieved denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," he said.

"International institutions conceived a generation ago must also adapt to Asia's rise," Ambassador Negroponte said. "That is why, for example, the U.S. supports Japan as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council."

"We also want to see the most inclusive economic organization in the region, APEC, develop into the region's preeminent economic organization. Japan will host APEC in 2010 and the U.S. looks forward to hosting it in 2011, providing us with a two-year period in which we can collaborate in strengthening APEC."

Finally, he declared, the U.S. and Japan must "seek an international solution to climate change that is environmentally effective and economically sustainable," with "strong participation from all major economies."

"Japan's recognized leadership role is reflected by its hosting of the G-8 this year, where climate change will be a key focus. Japan's beautiful Lake Toya," on the northern island of Hokkaido, "is a fitting locale for these discussions, and we look forward to participating actively in this process."

"We will continue to work with Japan on all of these global issues in a spirit of trust and confidence," Ambassador Negroponte concluded. "At the same time, we will look to Japan to further develop its role as a strong and trusted regional leader. Japan's standing in Asia is high, but lingering historical issues remain. We hope that Japan will continue to work with its neighbors to cultivate relationships that allow East Asia to fulfill its immense potential."

"In particular, I would note that Japan's relationship with China has historically been contentious. And yet it is gratifying to see that this relationship is improving. We do not fear Japan-China understanding and cooperation, nor should Japan fear U.S.-China understanding and cooperation. These are not zero-sum relationships where one of the three parties must lose if the other two gain. In the context of a strong, enduring, proven U.S.-Japan alliance, the U.S. can have good relations with both China and with Japan and these positive relations should be good for all sides."

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On his visit to Beijing in November 2006, Undersecretary of State R. Nicholas Burns said that the U.S. and China have a joint responsibility for the security and peace of the world. Now that he will be stepping down, will the administration's policy continue to be the same as he stated then?

"What we want to encourage China is to be what my predecessor, Robert Zoellick, called a responsible stakeholder," Ambassador Negroponte responded. "We don't want China to be a free rider. We don't want them to benefit from the institutions of the international system without making a commensurate contribution of their own."

"Because it's a growing economy, because it's a permanent member of the Security Council and because it has increasing reach in terms of its activities around the world, we want to work in a cooperative way with China. And that's the basis on which we have engaged them most immediately with respect to the security and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, but also on issues farther afield such as Darfur, policies towards Iran and so forth. But--yes, essentially we want to encourage China to be a partner in helping make the world a better place."

How do you see India's role developing in the context of expanded U.S.-Japan cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region?

"I think we have come a long way from the period during the Cold War where we might have had correct relations, but quite often they had an antagonistic tone towards them," the deputy secretary replied. Undersecretary Burns "has led an effort to have a very intense and broad-ranging dialogue with the country of India. We think India is a country whose views need to be taken into account on the world stage."

"As you know, emblematic of this new partnership that we have been developing with India, we have signed a nuclear cooperation agreement which is currently pending before our respective legislatures. So, I would say that our relations with India are on the uptick and it's a country that we take very, very seriously."

The Japanese have expressed increased interest in a bilateral free trade agreement with the U.S. Does the U.S. have an opinion or a view on this, and what sorts of conditions would they expect to be met before they would discuss this?

"Certainly we favor Japanese economic reform and we would hope there would be no back-peddling in that area," Ambassador Negroponte answered.

"I'd say the current priorities of this administration, since after all we are in the home stretch and with only one year left of this administration, the priorities are to get ratified and passed by the Congress the agreements that have already been negotiated, particularly agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea," he commented.

"I wouldn't rule out the eventuality of a U.S.-Japan free trade agreement, but I think speaking realistically this is not something that is likely to be seriously addressed during the time remaining in this administration."

Right now the top news in Japan is that several Japanese citizens have been poisoned by contaminated foods, dumplings, imported from China. With the Beijing Olympics approaching quickly, what steps is the U.S. trying to take to deal with product-safety problems that the U.S. has experienced with Chinese imports, and what steps are they trying to take with Japan to help China to encourage them to increase their safety?

Deputy Secretary Negroponte said he was unaware whether the U.S. has had trilateral talks with Japan and China on these issues.

However, he said, on a recent visit to China, "in addition to meeting with my counterpart, who is the executive vice foreign minister of China, I also met with the foreign minister and the prime minister, and the prime minister of China himself referred to this question about food safety as being in the forefront of issues that they felt they had to deal with in terms of their relationships with us and other countries in the world.

"So, I think there has been a very, very strong message sent back there, and I think it's been received, that this is an issue that they must come to grips with."

--Katharine Hyde