In attempting to explain the US policy of rebalance,1 Japanese analysts often begin by referring to Hillary Clinton’s article “America’s Pacific Century,” which appeared in the November 2011 issue of Foreign Policy.2 From the Japanese perspective, several considerations influenced the United States’ adoption of the rebalance policy. Kato Yoichi’s assessment summarizes the prevailing Japanese
... [Show full abstract] views well.3 He observes that the Obama administration needed to explain to Congress why the defense budget should not be reduced despite the end of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also, the United States needed a new strategic objective as American military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan were drawing down, and connecting to Asia’s dynamic growth promised to serve both US economic and strategic interests. It was widely believed in Japan that the War on Terror conducted by the Bush administration had led to the reduction of US engagement in the Pacific in diplomatic and national security terms, weakening US leadership in the region.
