A 10-step programme to level the great alliance
Since taking office in mid-September, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has repeatedly asserted that he will pursue 'equality' in Tokyo's diplomatic and security relations with the US.
Beyond contending that he would 'actively make proposals' on the Japan-US alliance, Hatoyama has not explained what his government will do to achieve that 'equality'. Here, then, are 10 things Japan can do to put its alliance with the US on an equal footing.
Take full responsibility for its own defence. That would require an amendment to the famed Article 9 of its constitution, which forbids Japan from the 'use of force as a means of settling international disputes'.
Emphasise naval forces to project power into the ocean and particularly south to the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea that are vital to the flow of oil and other resources to Japan.
Revise the Japan-US security treaty to oblige Japan to come to the defence of the US, just as the US is obliged to help defend Japan.
Quadruple defence spending to US$200 billion a year, to bring it up to 4 per cent of gross national product, the same ratio as that in the US. Taxes would need to be raised, as Japan spends only 1 per cent of its GNP on defence.
Enlarge the Self-Defence Force to 880,000 men and women from the present 240,000, which would be commensurate with the nation's population, as in the US. The force has long had difficulty filling its ranks with recruits so Japan might need to resort to conscription.
Expel most, if not all, US forces from Japan, including Okinawa. But those bases would be needed for the enhanced Self-Defence Force and thus could not be converted to civilian use. Jitsuro Terashima, a close adviser to Hatoyama, advocates having the US move its forces to Guam and Hawaii.
Remove the US nuclear umbrella, or extended deterrence, from Japan. Terashima considers it 'an obvious relic of the cold war'. Instead, he suggests that Japan rely on a world without nuclear weapons, as proposed by US President Barack Obama. But he does not say whether Japan should 'go nuclear'.
Take over development of missile defence from the US.
Establish a department like the CIA to collect and analyse political, economic and military intelligence. Today, Japan relies on an inadequate research office attached to the cabinet and on whatever the US is willing to share.
Take the initiative in international negotiations. With one or two exceptions in the past 50 years, Japan has let the US, the Europeans and, most recently, China be leaders in the hard work of negotiating. A Japan that seeks to be the equal of those nations would need to step up and take diplomatic risks.
Once the equality that Hatoyama seeks has been reached, he says Japan could be a bridge between what he sees as a rising China and a tottering America. That may be presumptuous, as neither President Hu Jintao nor Obama has given any sign that he feels a need for a bridge to the other.
Richard Halloran is a former New York Times foreign correspondent in Asia and military correspondent in Washington
