The role of Japan-United States political and military relations in the concept "comprehensive national security of Japan"

The article seeks to identify and consider the influence of the Japanese-American military-political cooperation on the policy of the Japanese leaders pursued during the implementation of the concept "comprehensive national security of Japan". The main goal of this research is improvement of understanding of the essence of the concept above by means of the analysis of provisions of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan, and also the taken actions within this treaty whose consequences were the improvement of relations between Japan and the USA. The author emphasizes the main and most significant provisions of the Treaty: in difference from the San Francisco Peace Treaty, the new document introduced more equality in the bilateral relations between Japan and the USA. Though the possibility of creation and use of military bases in the territory of Japan and also an option of accommodation of American military contingent in any quantity was still assigned to the United States, regulations on intervention of the American army in the domestic policy of Tokyo were abolished. Besides, concerning other states, Japan could make decisions on military questions independently. The article also notes the fact that to make the union more balanced, the USA decided to carry out changes in military cooperation. By means of reduction of the military contingent and arms in the territory of Japan, the USA aspired the aim to induce Japan to independent accumulation of military potential. Reconsideration of the role of Japan within the fight of capitalist and socialist systems, its actions, forms and means of foreign policy turned out to be a natural result of such transformations in the structure of the Japanese-American bilateral relations. As a result of the aforesaid, political security came out to the forefront of the Japanese national security policy. To implement it, military-political relations between the USA and Japan were supposed to expand to military-political integration of three main centers of the imperialistic world: USA, Japan and Western Europe. In such a way, concerning the problem of this article, the following conclusion has been drawn: improvement of mechanisms of relations between Japan and the USA within the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security allowed the American-Japanese relations to be lifted to a qualitatively new level by the end of the first half of the '80s, which first of all meant the change of priorities in the political line of the Japanese administration from support by the USA to interaction with the USA.

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