For nearly five decades, the U.S.-Japanese alliance has underwritten peace and security in the Asia Pacific. The alliance has allowed for the forward basing of tens of thousands of American troops and cooperation between the two countries on a wide range of security issues. The alliance is being tested today by the economic and military rise of China, the continuing crisis in North Korea, and the struggle to maintain the tide of democratic reform in the Asia-Pacific region.
Image courtesy U.S. Department of State