By Shannon Tiezzi
Security issues and the TPP — but not history — will feature prominently during Abe’s first state visit to Washington.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will arrive in the U.S. for a state visit on April 26, making him the first Japanese prime minister to pay an official visit to Washington since 2006 (there have been a number of “working visits,” however, including a trip by Abe himself to Washington, D.C. in 2013). There are a variety of issues on the agenda for Abe’s first state visit to the U.S., from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to new defense guidelines for the U.S.-Japan alliance. Speaking to journalists in Washington D.C., Japanese Ambassador Kenichiro Sasae called Abe’s visit “epoch-making,” saying the two sides will discuss their “common vision” for the future of the alliance.
Part of that discussion will center on how the alliance will function in the face of a changing regional and global security environment. Sasae said the new defense guidelines currently under discussion will aim to “update, modernize and strengthen the alliance framework, reflecting the changes” in the security environment (including new challenges in the space and cyber domains).
During Abe’s visit, he and Obama will also discuss how the U.S.-Japan alliance should address regional security tensions. Sasae described the current security situation as a “grey area” – neither problem-free nor on the brink of armed conflict. Tensions in the region are particularly high as the military balance shifts thanks to China’s military modernization program. Although Sasae made it clear in a previous interview with The Diplomat that Japan doesn’t “define China as a threat,” Japan has expressed concern over a lack of transparency regarding China’s military build-up as well as China’s assertive actions in the East and South China Sea.
Read the full story at The Diplomat