LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Japan: U.S.-Japan
built 621 days ago
An archipelago in the Pacific, Japan is separated from the east coast of Asia by the Sea of Japan. It is approximately the size of Montana. Japan's four main islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku. The Ryukyu chain to the southwest was U.S.-occupied from 1945 to 1972, when it reverted to Japanese control, and the Kurils to the northeast are Russian-occupied.
Source:
As the world's second largest national economy, Japan has struggled to define its international role. Its postwar foreign policy was aimed at the maintenance and expansion of foreign markets, and the United States became its chief ally and trade partner. In the early 1970s... U.S.-Japanese relations became strained after the United States pressured Japan to revalue the yen, and again when it began talks with Communist China without prior consultation with Japan. Partly in response, the Tanaka government established (1972) diplomatic relations with Communist China and announced plans for negotiation of a peace treaty. Relations also became strained with South Korea and Taiwan. Japan did not sign a peace treaty with the USSR because of a dispute over territory in the Kuril Islands formerly held by Japan but occupied by the USSR after the war.
Source:
Japan's 1947 constitution, which renounces the right to use force or the threat of force as a means of settling international disputes, sets important limits on Japanese security policy. As a result, the U.S.-Japan security arrangement is the cornerstone of Japan’s security policy. Japan does not have any weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs, although it is generally perceived that Japan has the technical capability to produce basic nuclear weapons and missiles in a relatively short time. Tokyo is highly active in the international nonproliferation and disarmament arena, and party to all relevant multilateral treaties and regimes. As the only country to have suffered nuclear weapons attacks, Japan has been especially active in the field of nuclear disarmament, nonproliferation and arms control. Japan ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1976 and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in 1997.
Source:
Japan ... decided to join the U.S. in developing and financing missile defense shield and its defense agency was upgraded to a full ministry in 2007. Parliament also passed a bill calling for a referendum as early as 2010 to amend the U.S.-imposed "peace constitution."
Source:
Prime Minister Abe abruptly announced his resignation in September just days into the parliamentary session, during which he stated his controversial plan to extend Japan's participation in a U.S.-led naval mission in Afghanistan. The move followed a string of scandals and the stunning defeat of his Liberal Democratic Party in July's parliamentary elections. The Libeal Democratic Party elected Yasuo Fukuda to succeed Abe. Fukuda, a veteran lawmaker, was elected to Parliament in 1990 and held the post as chief cabinet secretary under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. His father, Takeo Fukuda, served as prime minister from 1976 to 1978.
Source:
PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Kapow Technologies (http://www.kapowtech.com/), the leading provider of mashup solutions for the enterprise, today announced the opening of a new office in Tokyo, Japan. Macaraeg, an industry veteran who successfully established several U.S.-based enterprise software companies in Asia throughout his career, has been named as Kapow's General Manager, Japan.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
U.S.-Japan