The Annuals of Japanese Political Science Association
Online ISSN : 1884-3921
Print ISSN : 0549-4192
ISSN-L : 0549-4192
The “Shared Values” in U.S.-Japan Relations, 1973-1976:
The Foundation of the Alliance in the Transformed Cold War
Fumitaka CHO
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2016 Volume 67 Issue 2 Pages 2_312-2_333

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Abstract

By 1973, the Asia-Pacific regional order had experienced a dynamic transformation due to President Richard Nixon’s trips to Beijing and Moscow in 1972, as well as to the settlement of the Vietnam peace negotiations. This transformed international environment posed the U.S. and Japan a challenge of redefining the rationale for their close relationship. This article examines how both countries overcame this challenge and solidified their relations by the mid-1970s. It argues that they did so by emphasizing their “shared values,” particularly, their commitments to the principles of liberal democracy and economic liberalism. It demonstrates that the U.S. and Japan came to recognize these values as the foundation of their alliance as they dealt with the easing of the Cold War confrontation and the politico-economic turmoil across the western industrial countries. As a result, the U.S.-Japan alliance came to take on multilayered significance beyond a sheer military meaning.

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© 2016 JAPANESE POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION
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