Client State: Japan in the American Embrace

Japan is the world’s No. 2 economy, greater in GDP than Britain and France together and almost double that of China. It is also the most durable, generous, and unquestioning ally of the US, attaching priority to its Washington ties over all else. In Client State, Gavan McCormack examines the current transformation of Japan, designed to meet the demands from Washington that Japan become the “Great Britain of the Far East.” Exploring postwar Japan’s relationship with America, he contends that US pressure has been steadily applied to bring Japan in line with neoliberal principles. The Bush administration’s insistence on Japan’s thorough subordination has reached new levels, and is an agenda heavily in the American, rather than the Japanese, national interest. It includes comprehensive institutional reform, a thorough revamp of the security and defense relationship with the US, and—alarmingly—vigorous pursuit of Japan’s acquisition of nuclear weapons.

Gavan McCormack is Emeritus Professor in the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, Canberra. His recent books include The Emptiness of Japanese Affluence; Japan’s Contested Constitution and Target North Korea: Pushing North Korea to the Brink of Nuclear Catastrophe.