Okinawa, the US-Japan alliance, and Asia-Pacific security

Recent tensions in Northeast Asia highlight the need for a stable regional security architecture – a role long played by the US–Japan alliance. In fact, the alliance has long been a core part of regional security politics. The United States' "San Francisco," or "hub-and-spokes," system of alliances has contributed much to Asia's security and economic development (Calder 2004; Tow and Envall 2011). Today, however, the US–Japan alliance is challenged not only by regional developments, such as North Korea's saber-rattling and the Japanese dispute with China over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands (Daily Yomiuri 15 December 2012), but also by domestic concerns. In the latter context, the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa and the presence of US military bases there continues to be an irritant in US–Japan relations. The ongoing distrust and resentment of the US military presence by substantial sectors of the Okinawan population is particularly problematic for the alliance stability.