February 18, 2025

Akahata ‘Morning breeze’ column

The second Trump administration was inaugurated on January 20. Donald Trump, even before taking the oath of office as U.S. President, made controversial remarks, such as taking control of Greenland and the Panama Canal and renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, and emphasized his differences with his predecessor. His remarks are a sign of his sense of crisis regarding America’s decline.

In November 2009, U.S. President Obama in Tokyo expressed his intent to take part in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement by saying, “[…] we can’t let countries like China write the rules of the global economy.” After that, the U.S. global strategy shifted to one containing and suppressing rapidly-rising China.

In 2015, during Obama’s presidency, the Japanese national security-related laws which allow Japan’s use of the collective self-defense right were enacted. The first Trump administration pushed Japan to purchase a large amount of U.S.-made weapons, which led to a surge in Japan’s military spending. Then, what happened during the Biden administration was that Japan moved toward an unconstitutional military buildup policy which includes the possession of enemy base attack capabilities. These stemmed from the U.S. government’s dangerous East Asia strategy containing and confronting China.

Prime Minister Ishiba in the Japan-U.S. summit meeting in February promised President Trump to further promote Japan’s military expansion. PM Ishiba should understand that what is necessary for East Asia is a foreign affairs policy aimed at settling conflicts through dialogue, not armed force.