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in
the wake
of
today's WORLD EVENTS
•
Tokyo and Washington: A Changed
Relationship
"The old dient relationship to the United States is
finished." This is the way the
Christian Science Monitor'J
Joseph
C.
Harsch summarized current Japanese-American
affairs early this year shortly after President Nixon's sum-
President Nixon welcomes Prime Minister Sato to the
Western White House.
Hondrickson
-
Ambo1<odor Colltgt
mit meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Eisaku Sato.
The San Clemente conference was held at a time of
increased tension between the two Pacific powees over teade
and monetary mattees.
Ever since its defeat in 1945, Tokyo has left its defense
and foreign policy in the hands of Washington. lts rapidly
growing teade was conducted in the dollar area. Its whole
foeeign policy approach was that of a client relationship to
superpower United $tates in all mattees of impoetance.
Two events in 1971 made it plain to the Japanese that
they must walk about in the world without Washington's
crutch. On July 15, President Nixon announced he would
visit mainland China. Tokyo, nestled in the shadow of the
most populous nation on earth, was not informed ahead of
time. The Japanese had barely had time to recovee from that
bombshell when, exactly two months latee, they weee stunned
by the second of the "Nixon shocks" - as they are called
in Japan. On August 15, Mr. Nixon unveiled his new
economic policy, which included a ten peecent surcharge on
all Japanese exports to the U. S.
There are already signs of a more independent Tokyo
foreign policy. One of these involves the China issue. After
his two-day meeting with Mr. Nixon, Mr. Sato told newsmen:
"The United $tates is thinking very seriously of keeping
its commitments [to Taiwan] in spite of the new develop–
ments that have occucred at the United Nations. In our case,
we do not have commitments to the same extent."
The implication was that Japan is peepared to phase out
geadually its obligations to Taiwan - contained in the peace
treaty it signed with Nationalist China - in the course of
negotiating diplomatic relations with Peking.
Sato, in a separate press conference for Japanese report–
ees, suggested that Taiwan was no longer "important" to the
security of Japan, a characterization made in 1969 during a
visit to the United States. "Nineteen sixty-nine was 1969,
and this time is this time," he said.
At the same time, the leaders of the two most powerful
economies in the free wor!d agreed to set up a Washington–
Tokyo "hot line." The puepose of the line, Sato told report–
ees, was "so we would not
be
caught unpeepared to eeceive
shocking news."
•
First U.S. Trade Deficit in 78 Years
The United States recorded a two-billion-dollar deficit
in its foreign trade in 1971. It was the first time imports
exceeded exports since 1893.