The U.S.‐Japan alliance and the U.S.‐South Korea alliance: Their origins, dilemmas, and structures

Abstract

This article compares the US.‐Japan alliance with the U.S.‐South Korea alliance. While both are bilateral defensive alliances between unequal powers in Northeast Asia formed during the early cold war era, there are significant differences between the two in terms of their origins, dilemmas, and structures. The U.S.‐Japan alliance, which was formed without clear and direct common threats, has been faced with Japan's unwillingness to maintain a strong commitment and thus has been quite loosely structured. On the other hand, the U.S.‐South Korea alliance, which clearly aims to deter North Korea's aggression, has occasionally faced U.S. unwillingness to strongly commit and thus has been quite tightly structured. Based on comparison of the two alliances, however, this article concludes that the differences between them are diminishing greatly in the post‐cold war security environment.