Japan is starting to emerge as a major player in the international security affairs of the post-Cold War era. With the approach of the half-century mark since the conclusion of WSW II, Japan's postwar generation of leaders appears more confident then their predecessors about their country's potential contribution to global peace and stability. However, decisive action is now necessary to redefine the alliance and the four types of likely dangers. Interesting reading.

Japan is starting to emerge as a major player in the international security affairs of the post-Cold War era. With the approach of the half-century mark since the conclusion of the Second World War, Japan's postwar generation of leaders appears more confident than their predecessors about their country's potential contribution to global peace and stability. Evidence that Japan may be finding its footing as a great market democracy is extant in the recent report of a distinguished advisory commission reviewing Japan's National Defense Program Outline: "Japan should extricate itself from its security policy of the past that was, if anything, passive, and henceforth play an active role in shaping a new order."2.

This is an edited volume that examines the US-Japan security alliance, the key to US-Japanese relations since the end of US occupation in the 50s. The alliance has long been a source of both co-operation and stress between the two nations, but with rapid changes in Asia, it has grown more problematic. This book brings American and Japanese specialists together to examine the alliance within the wider regional environment and to determine whether and how the bilateral alliance can evolve and remain at the core of the region's security order.