By Wang Hengwen
Recently, Itsunori Onodera, chairman of the LDP's policy research council, stated that Japan is willing to bear certain costs to continue using the military training grounds located on the US overseas territory of Tinian Island. This is the second time Japan has proposed the long-term deployment of forces on US soil, following a statement in September by Japan's current Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, expressing a desire to establish a training base for the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) in the US.
Analysts believe that, according to the provisions of the Japan-US Security Treaty and the US-Japan Status of Forces Agreement, their alliance is not an equal relationship. Recently, Japan has deviated from its usual stance, attempting to break the constraints imposed by the two aforementioned documents. It aims to adjust the Japan-US alliance through a "small steps, fast pace" approach, seeking equality between the two sides. However, considering various factors, this goal is difficult to achieve.
This June, the US military proposed a plan to relocate nearly half of the US forces currently stationed in Okinawa to Guam, Hawaii, and the US mainland. The US military's adjustment of its force deployment appears, on the surface, to be aimed at reducing the burden on the local population in Okinawa. In reality, it shifts more of the defense burden of the risk-prone first island chain onto Japan. In response, Japan is fully aware of the situation. The recent calls from Japanese politicians for the deployment of JSDF troops in the US are, in fact, expressions of dissatisfaction with the US military's relocation plan.
On November 11, the National Diet of Japan held a special parliamentary session to elect the prime minister. Shigeru Ishiba, president of the Liberal Democratic Party, narrowly secured re-election as Prime Minister after two rounds of voting in the House of Representatives, avoiding the fate of becoming Japan's shortest-serving Prime Minister after WWII. However, Shigeru Ishiba faces numerous challenges in his future governance. In addition to having to address Japan's long-standing domestic economic and livelihood issues, his cabinet will inevitably encounter obstruction from opposition parties when making policy decisions and implementing measures. Against this backdrop, Shigeru Ishiba's emphasis on striving for an equal status with the US also reflects a desire to project a strong image, with the aim of boosting domestic support.
Shigeru Ishiba has declared that he will push for the revision of the Japan-US Security Treaty, aiming to elevate the Japan-US relationship to a more equal alliance, similar to the one between the UK and the US. In recent years, the US has become fixated on the so-called great power competition and has actively eased military restrictions on Japan, granting it more autonomy within the alliance framework. From allowing Japan to produce the Patriot missiles, to announcing the restructuring of the US military command in Japan, and even permitting the maintenance of large US vessels in Japan, the US government's various tacit approvals and concessions have led Japan to develop an illusion of Japan-US equality.
However, an illusion is ultimately just an illusion. There are essential differences between the defense relations between the US and the UK and between the US and Japan. The US and the UK are culturally similar, with their "special relationship" rooted in the anti-Fascist alliance of WWII. The level of mutual trust between the two far exceeds that of the US-Japan relationship. In contrast, Japan, as the culprit of the Pacific War and a defeated nation in WWII, has long been under the surveillance of the US. Although the US views Japan as a vanguard in implementing the so-called Indo-Pacific Strategy, it has never let down its guard. Ironically, the location Shigeru Ishiba proposed for the long-term deployment of the JSDF, Tinian Island, was the very site from which US B-29 bombers took off to drop atomic bombs on Japan at the end of WWII. Japan's focus on this island is likely to make the US more wary of its intentions.
In addition, with Donald Trump winning the US presidential election, he will likely continue the approach from his first term, adopting a more assertive stance toward allies. Taking all these factors into consideration, Japan's pursuit of an equal alliance with the US is unlikely to succeed. Its proposal to permanently deploy the JSDF on US soil is merely a rhetorical gesture and its so-called demand for equality is destined to remain a fleeting illusion.
