The Policy of a Foreign Atate in Its Interaction - Article Example

The world has become an interconnected entity in which all countries are dependent on each other in one way or another. The policy of a foreign in its interaction with other sovereign states is referred to as foreign policy (Merriam Webster, 2007). The United States was the most powerful nation in the world in the 20th and it is still consider possibly the most powerful in the world in the 21st even though it does not the absolute domination it used too has a different foreign policy with all countries in the world. The main internal players in the United States government that are responsible for establishing foreign policy are the U.S. State Department, the Pentagon, U.S. Congress, the White House and other security agencies such as the CIA. An international organization that affects the foreign policy of countries around the world is the United Nations. A country that has historically been an important allied of the United States with whom the US has had a long history of international affairs is Japan. This report studies the foreign policy of the United in Japan. The paper is divided into four main sections which are a Japan Profile, US-Japan foreign policy relation and a conclusion. Japan Country Profile Japan is country with an area of 145,882 square miles that support a population of 127.5 million inhabitants (CultureGrams, 2007). The country has one of the highest population densities in the world with an average of 874 persons per square miles. The country has a one of the strongest economies in the world whose strength is based on manufacturing of high tech products such as automobiles, televisions, electronic equipment, metals, heavy equipment and chemicals (Culturegrams, 2007). The Japanese people enjoy a high standard of economic fluency as well as great health which account for the age expectancy of its people to be over 80 years of age. The real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the nation was $35,334 in 2005 (Country Watch, 2007). The national currency of Japan is the Yen. The country has a strong economic relationship with the United States. The Japanese people are hard working individual with strong family values. The culture is based on collectivism, loyalty, respect, devotion and strong family values. The Japanese are loyal workers that place a level of respect for authority figures. The woman enjoys some freedoms, but the man is supposed to be the provider and masculinity is evident within the culture. The Japanese enjoy recreational activities such movies, karaoke, nature outings, and sports especially baseball which is the national sport. The Japanese are very educated people. The education system focuses on preparing professional with high aptitudes in math and science which were the keys for the successful development of the powerful knowledge economy in Japan. The government and political system of Japan is based on a constitutional monarchy in which the emperor, head of state, Akihito is only an image figure since he has no real power. The Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, is the head of the government, but the institution that has all the power in Japan’s government is the Japan’s legislature called the Diet (CultureGrams, 2007). The country has a bit of political instability due to a transition from a one party rule to a two party democracy. Japan currently is involved in various international issues. They have a territorial dispute with Russia, a natural gas exploration dispute with China and the country in deeply involved in the negotiations to de-nuclearise the Korean Peninsula (Country Insight, 2007). The Korean issue poses a major military threat for Japan. A major international economic weakness of this nation is its high levels of debt which represent 180% of its GDP and the dept is growing at an alarming 8% yearly growth rate. US-Japan foreign policy relation The United States Foreign policy in the Japan has two key areas of importance which the two countries share common interest. The biggest factor in the relationship between these nations is economic reason. The second factor which has become recently of great importance is military relations. The foreign relations and the importance of Japan for the United States is based on Japan being a key ally for the US interest in Asia and the formation of a strategic alliance to compete against the biggest rising economy in the world, China. The United States is Japan’s biggest trading partner even though trade imbalances and market access are two sources of friction in the foreign relation among these two nations (CultureGrams, 2007). The US-Japan relationship serves as a stabilizing force for the Asian continent (Aldridge). Japan’s involvement in the Korean negotiations to eliminate its nuclear capacity created a need to strengthen its military capacity. The creation of joint military exercises between US and Japanese military forces has improved integration and interoperability between the two forces (Shaplen & Laney, 2007). The Pentagon is the US agency that establishes military foreign policy. The help the US government is providing to the Japanese military is being given as concession in exchange for higher levels of involvement of Japan in the Middle East conflicts. Japan has been getting more involved in the conflict by serving as a peace maker in the negotiation process, by getting involved in the UN resolution setting process for anti-terrorism legislation, by providing financial support to 3rd world nation to battle terrorism and by cooperation in information exchange to battle terrorism in the Middle East and worldwide (Mofa, 2007). The foreign policy of the US to create a closer bond among the two nations has a lot to do with China emergency as a global player. The White House and president Bush who is the head of state and most influential figure in foreign policy setting have concentrated in strengthening the alliance to battle China economic power. China is an economic threat to both the US and Japan. The US needs deeper penetration and market share of the economic activity in the Asian continent and Japan is the key allied to gain further access and achieve market growth (Cha, 2007). The close relationship and alliance among these two countries is influencing the Japan in more ways that the people think. By working together Japan is changing its foreign policies. The country is actually in the midst of political transition towards a true democracy which would benefit the US. Trade restriction and market access would be enhanced after the completion of the transformation which is a positive outcome for the US foreign policies with Japan. Conclusion Foreign policy is an important governmental tool that country utilize to establish international relations with other countries. The United States and Japan are two of the biggest economies in the world. The US is the by far the strongest military power in the world. The US foreign policy with Japan is changing and is creating a closer bond among the two nations. These two nations have always had a close economic relationship, but the economic relationship has transformed from a bilateral relationship into a multilateral alliance to battle rising economies such as China. The US foreign policy with Japan has also open up great cooperation in the military aspect to bring stability to Asia and deal with the Middle East issues in a more effective manner. The future of the Japan-USA relationship is bright and further cooperation is expected in the future. By joining forces and opening their foreign policies to new dimensions these two powerful nations are mutually benefiting and are ensuring the success of the American and Japanese citizens. Read More