THE U.S. – JAPAN RELATIONS UNDER THE ADMINISTRATION OF DONALD TRUMP

This paper describes and discusses the major developments in the U.S.-Japan relations under the administration of Donald Trump (January 2017–January 2021) in political, commercial and economic, and energy areas. In political sphere, the research focuses on continuity and changes in the U.S. policy towards bilateral security alliance with Japan. The research has revealed that D. Trump's statements on security relations with allies and trade during his presidential campaign were cause for concern in Japan. To avoid their implementation, the prime-minister Shinzo Abe (Liberal Democratic Party) managed to establish close personal relations with Donald Trump and successfully navigated them until his resignation in September 2020. Importantly, Abe succeeded in separating issues of security and trade in a bilateral dialogue with the U.S. As a result, Trump's preelection statements on security with Japan had not been implemented. Moreover, the U.S.-Japan security cooperation strengthened based at the mutual support of "free and open Indo-Pacific" strategy. In commercial and economic area, new trade policies of Trump administration since 2018 had an impact on Japan. Abe failed to persuade D. Trump to return to multinational Trans Pacific Partnership free trade agreement. A large U.S. deficit in trade with Japan caused bilateral negotiations on trade issues. Their first stage was completed in September 2019. However, the trade agreement did not cover cars and auto parts, which composed 75 percent of Japan's export to the U.S. In energy sector, the focus of bilateral cooperation shifted from clean energy and environmental initiatives of Obama administration to energy security and integration of regional energy market in the Indo-Pacific. Two countries prioritized cooperation in Liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector, in which they had complementary interests. The policy of Shinzo Abe with respect to the U.S. was continued by the new government of Japan by Yoshihide Suga (Liberal Democratic Party)