Washington Report, 2010-2

For more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/The Democratic Party of Japan’s (DPJ) landslide victory in August 2009 lower house elections, which enabled the left-ofcenter DPJ to wrest government control from the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has created new challenges in bilateral relations. The DPJ objected to implementing a key element of a 2006 agreement aimed at realigning U.S. forces in Asia. The new ruling party also has pursued deeper engagement with China, which has alarmed some U.S. observers. Prof. Mike Mochizuki of The George Washington University, explores the implications of Japan’s political changes on U.S.-Japan security issues, Japanese diplomacy in Asia, and domestic governance