BW Online | February 18, 2002 | Why Japan Needs to Be Strong

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FEBRUARY 18, 2002

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Why Japan Needs to Be Strong

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For a decade, the U.S. has pushed Japan to reform its economy so that the world's second-largest economy can help contribute to world growth. But now the Bush Administration is raising an even more serious concern. If Japan can't restart growth, it could begin to hurt security throughout the Pacific Basin. That's a shocking thought. Since taking office last year, key Administration officials such as Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld have expressed increased reservations about China's growing power in Asia. They were planning to counter that by increasing Japan's military role in Asia. Rumsfeld was hoping to bolster intelligence sharing between the U.S. and Japan and get Japan to play a leadership role on all international security issues. This is now threatened.

Although Japan's self-defense force is mainly funded for homeland security, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi won permission from Parliament recently to expand Japan's military presence internationally. It already has a large blue-water fleet and a strong air force. Koizumi is seeking to raise defense spending above the 1% of gross domestic product, or $43 billion, spent now. But a weak economy makes further increases in defense outlays difficult. Japan's stock market is at an 18-year low, signaling more trouble ahead.

There's no doubt that since September 11 Japan's leaders have made a real effort to contribute. They took the lead on raising funds for rebuilding Afghanistan, and they want to strengthen their own troops and equipment for offshore needs. This goes well beyond the checkbook diplomacy of the past. But no country can sustain a strong military on the back of a weakening economy. The question is whether a call for global military support will be more effective in bringing about economic reform than a decade of asking Japan to create a strong economy for world growth.

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