http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2009/02/05/obama-already-passing-japan/ Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the Pacific Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:28:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2 http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2009/02/05/obama-already-passing-japan/comment-page-1/#comment-9603 Doug Ostrom Tue, 10 Feb 2009 00:33:54 +0000 http://www.eastasiaforum.org/?p=1647#comment-9603 Perhaps the problem is that the Obama administration has too many Japan specialists for Tokyo's liking. They "get" it about Japan--simple-minded arguments from Japanese bureaucrats won't work with them. Conservative Japanese politicians used to making ideological excuses to their fairly uninformed counterparts in Republican administrations are going to have to try something new. In any event, fears about problems with Washington are a perennial issue with Tokyo when Democrats come to town. I'm not sure that history bears out those fears. Perhaps the problem is that the Obama administration has too many Japan specialists for Tokyo’s liking. They “get” it about Japan–simple-minded arguments from Japanese bureaucrats won’t work with them. Conservative Japanese politicians used to making ideological excuses to their fairly uninformed counterparts in Republican administrations are going to have to try something new. In any event, fears about problems with Washington are a perennial issue with Tokyo when Democrats come to town. I’m not sure that history bears out those fears.

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